An interesting text by Coring Faife, in which he states 10 reasons why the Brits would vote Barack Obama. The text was published November 6th, the elections day, before knowing what was the American people choice for the 45th US President.
'Well, my American friends, you may know it already or you may not, but
my country quite likes your president. On this day, of course, as citizens of the United States go to the polls – notwithstanding the 90 million who
may not even bother with voting – most of the American public will be focused on internal affairs. But given America’s influence on the rest of the world, there’s no doubt that citizens of many other nations have strong opinions about who sits in the Whitehouse. This, you probably realised. But did you know that if the
British public were to vote in the elections today, they would overwhelming support another term for
Barack Obama? While the result in the US hangs in the balance, a recent poll by AngusReid found that Britons
would vote 10-1 in favour of keeping the incumbent in power. And when Obama toured
Europe a little over a year ago, a ComRes poll of the British public
found that 70 percent thought he was doing a better job than George Bush, and 60 percent thought he was 'proving to be a good president.'Some of the shimmer of his 2008 victory might have worn off by now, but on the whole, it’s an inescapable fact that Britain is still very much
pro-Obama. So here, if you can spare the time to read before you cast your vote, are ten reasons why:
1.Because He Replaced George Bush
In recent history, no American president has had such a significant impact on British politics as George W. Bush. Collective opinion is that Bush dragged the UK into the Iraq War, thanks to Tony Blair’s unwillingness to stand up to him. The war was deeply unpopular with the British public – it initially sparked the
largest demonstration in the country’s history – and effectively put the nail in the coffin for Blair’s political career. It haunted him throughout the rest of his term in office, and cemented our deep dislike of Bush Jnr. When the latter left office in ’08 we were glad to see the back of him, and thrilled to welcome in a less bellicose president – and the memory of how much we prefer Obama to his predecessor persists to this day.
2.Because He Keeps His Nose Out Of Our Politics
Although David Cameron and Barack Obama have met on numerous occasions, and
profess to admire each other greatly, their relationship couldn’t be described as close. Whereas Blair and Bush were BFFs, Cameron and Obama seem to have a more distant, professional relationship, and Obama rarely comments on British affairs. Given what the Bush-Blair partnership meant for the UK’s foreign policy, we’re completely happy with that.
3.Because He Supports Universal Healthcare
Although ‘Obamacare’ was hugely controversial in the US, here in the UK (where every citizen enjoys free healthcare) it was seen as simply common sense. It may have its faults, but the British public is highly protective of the NHS, despite attempts of the current ConDem government to
privatize large swathes of it in the name of ‘austerity’. In Britain, Obama’s plan to introduce universal coverage to the US was seen as a brave political battle to fight, and his final success in implementing the programme – albeit a watered down version – won him much admiration.
4.Because We’re More Suspicious Of The Very Wealthy
Whilst British society might still be riven with economic inequality, we have not yet reached the extreme polarities
found in the United States. Being wealthy is generally acceptable – a high profile member of a previous Labour government famously declared that they were '
intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich' – but to be truly super-rich is more problematic, especially in the field of politics. David Cameron, with an estimated net worth of £30 million, came under scrutiny for a statement in which he
claimed to be middle class – an attempt at downplaying his privileged background to seem more in touch with ordinary folk. Mitt Romney’s net worth, estimated to be
somewhere in the range of $200-250 million, would likely prove an obstacle to his election were he running for office in the UK. Obama, with a
more modest fortune of around $6 million, is a much more palatable option to the European public in this respect.
5.Because We’re Fine With The Idea Of Being Aloof
Opposition campaigns and political pundits alike have often
criticized Obama for being aloof, cerebral, and somewhat lacking in warmth, a flaw that could count against him in the coming vote. But over here, we’re British, remember – being aloof in social situations is pretty much the cornerstone of our culture! That whole folksy, touchy-feely politics beloved of the Bidens and Bushs of the American establishment just doesn’t come naturally to us. Though we have a lot of respect for politicians who can be down to earth and in touch with the people, in British public life it’s by no means a crushing handicap to come across as slightly cold.
6.Because We Don’t Have Fox News
We may have some decidedly right-wing newspapers, but for the most part British television sticks to the political centre. The BBC has a number of internal checks and balances set up to ensure balanced coverage of political issues, and other news outlets tend to follow suit; in general, this means it’s rare to see a one-sided political rant on British TV. What we definitely do not have is anything on a par with Fox News’s virulent anti-Obama agenda, the extent of which is almost unbelievable to British viewers. The channel continues to
characterise the President as a socialist, give weight to
fringe rumours about his origins, and systematically distort his words
again and
again and
again. Fox propagandists executives have directly admitted
lying with intent to sabotage the Obama campaign. Without these kind of partisan interventions from a major media outlet, a good many more Americans might support Obama than currently do.
7.Because Romney Doesn’t Like Europe (And Vice Versa)
Mitt Romney’s European tour this summer was widely hailed as disastrous. He made gaffe after gaffe,
questioning the readiness of London to host the Olympics, raising hackles in the Middle East with
ill-informed comments on the Palestinian economy, and being
snubbed by Polish trade unions due to his anti-union stance in America. By the end of the tour, even the conservative French daily Le Figaro was asking, '
Is Mitt a loser?' Furthermore, when back at home, Romney criticized Obama for wanting to '
turn America into a Euopean-style entitlement society.' Unsurprisingly, that kind of comment doesn’t win you any friends over here, Mitt…you can just leave us Europeans to our ‘entitlement’ and surrender and
bad teeth and whatever else it is you think we do, and stay on that side of the Pond.
8.Because We Don’t Mix Religion And Politics
Compared to the the States, Britain is a far less religious society, and a more quietly religious one at that. It’s unthinkable (and faintly ridiculous) for us to imagine a modern British Prime Minister ending a speech with 'God bless the United Kingdom', for example, whilst a parallel comment from an American president is par for the course. Though freedom of religion is enshrined in the British legal system, you seldom hear it referenced as a pillar of our society. And the role of religion in public life is complicated – former PM Tony Blair only formally
converted to Catholicism after leaving office, fearing that to do so earlier in his career might have proved divisive. In this context, it’s hard to imagine a Mormon (or member of any other such sub-sect of Christianity) holding the highest office in the UK, another point that counts against Romney.
9.Because We’re Unhappy With Our Own Leaders
As US-based British journalist Gary Younge
writes: Europeans don’t just love Obama more than Americans do. They love him more than they love the people they have elected themselves….Smart, charismatic, telegenic and unencumbered by sleaze Obama still, by comparison, represents the possibility of a popular form of electoral politics led by intelligent and public-spirited citizens as opposed to opportunists, egomaniacs and sleazemongers. Obama comes across as a man of genuine integrity, at a time when British leaders have been hit by scandal after
scandal. In 2012, Brits may not trust the people leading our country – but we still trust the man leading yours.
10.Because He Represents The Best Side Of US Politics
In the UK, when we caricature American politics, it’s often as brash, intolerant and reactionary. The arguments of the religious right, particularly relating to the
rights of women over their bodies, and the broader knee-jerk Republic reaction to any suggestion that ‘Big Government’ wants to interfere with their freedom to make money as they please, do not come over well here. In contrast to all this, Obama’s position as pro-choice,
pro-gay marriage, pro-welfare state endears him far more to the British public. To us, he represents a more compassionate side of American politics, one that tries (not always successfully) to balance the rights of the ‘little people’ against those of wealthy oligarchs. I and many others have reservations about some of Obama’s shortcomings – particularly his
failure to close Guantanamo Bay as promised, for example, and
expansion of the drone strike programme – but ultimately, most of us on this rainy isle conclude that on balance, he’s a force for good in American politics.
Tonight, as I stay up into the early hours to watch the results come in in London time, I’ll be far from the only one here rooting for four more years.'
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