2008 Woodie Awards
The World's Interest in America's Election
Presidential elections in the U.S. aren't just for Americans anymore.
Olivia Mae Malloy
Issue date: 10/29/04 Section: Opinions
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However, this leaves the rest of the world. Who is the best candidate to handle a foreign policy that will not leave America's name in the gutter, and who would citizens of other countries vote for? The American people have a vested interest in not responding to what is going on in their own society, are they actually willing to see how they fit into the world? Before heading out to vote perhaps U.S. citizens need to look at the election through a foreigner's eyes and realize that the American vote is not just a vote for the United States, it is a vote for the world.
The 2000 Presidential election proved to be a massive turning point in American politics, with hanging chads, re-votes, the involvement of the Supreme Court, and the subsequent election of George W. Bush as the forty third President. After September 11, when Bush rallied Americans together in an attempt to heal the country, even Democrats could stomach him. However, shortly after declaring his "war on terror" it was clear that Bush's aspirations for the country were on a somewhat different agenda. Whatever international pro-American sentiment foreign countries harboured for the U.S. following 9/11 has been squandered. Europeans believe that Bush lied to his own people and to the international community, and he did it because he has become a "tyrant."
Newspaper articles sporting headlines like, "Poll reveals world anger at Bush," or "The world backs Kerry" flood the streets. One of London's most noteworthy papers, The Guardian, reported on a series of articles gathered from eleven countries worldwide in which anti-Bush sentiment became the focal point. These eleven countries - France, Britain, Australia, Russia, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Canada, and Korea - submitted to polls and reported their findings to The Guardian, from which only two - Israel and Russia -support Bush in the coming election. The remaining nine states would like nothing more than to see Kerry succeed on November 2. These states find Bush's policies over-bearing and that he ignores what the international community is saying and manipulates other leaders to achieve his desired outcome. In one of the articles, a Japanese citizen was quoted as saying, "The United States should realize the limits of a policy relying only on force."