Osama Obama

What some McCain fans say about the Democratic presidential candidate.

“Where are you from? Germany? That’s really nice! I was stationed there in 1972.” It’s hard to believe how easily one can get into a conversation in the United States, especially when you look as un-American (and as German) as I do. Most people guess it right off the bat. Some have to work their way through Holland or Switzerland before they peg me as German. A few others think I come from England – something really astounding considering my accent – but maybe it’s because I persist in pronouncing the “a” in “can’t” as if it were spelled “cawnt.” But I digress.

Such small talk is always nice, even if you don’t learn much about your partner. The subject of politics is generally avoided in small talk. At least that’s what I thought until I had my first political discussion last night in a restaurant. As usual, it began innocently. The two elderly couples and I exchanged glances, then came the “Where froms?” and then the “Where tos?” followed by a few sightseeing tips around New York City. And then came the question, “What do you think of the presidential election?” I admitted I was for Obama.

Silence.

One of the husbands, Carl, said they were against Obama. They were for McCain and asked whether I had thought about why Obama really wanted to be President. “Because he wants the power?” I guessed. “Exactly,” said Carl, “and McCain wants to be President because he wants to serve his country.”

Well, O.K. I don’t really believe anyone who’s looking to get the most powerful political job in the world is driven by pure altruism, but I have to admit there might be something to the idea that there could be other motivating forces besides just the desire for power. There may at least be another basic philosophy, but I don’t really know if that’s true. In Germany, it’s normal for politicians to have always been politicians; they’ve never had any other profession. In the United States, the idea of anyone planning a political career as thoroughly as Obama has is somehow distasteful.

But then what really stunned me were the arguments Carl and his three companions brought out against Obama. He has no character, he’s a Muslim, he hobnobs with terrorists – the whole palette of cheap right-wing propaganda. And besides, they said, Sarah Palin was more intelligent than Obama. Excuse me? I’d had about enough. I finished my beer, signed the credit card receipt and departed the way everyone here departs after some small talk: “Nice meeting you!”