the PRIMARY conversation

hasta la vista....romney (baby)
(sorry daddy)
*spoiler blog alert*
this blog is totally about the primaries, in case you would rather not read how what I think of politics and my affair with the Democrat party.

the Irish are obsessed with the American primaries. Whenever I meet someone new, there is a one out of three chance they'll say, "So, are you following the primaries?" Then you have to act awkwardly and see because they have very strong opinions on John, Hil and Barack. So you can't really commit, then they tell you how much they like one of the above. Then it's safe to say, "Nice meeting you- BYE," because the next step is usually what's wrong with the U.S. of A. right now.

Being in a foreign country has been enlightening, especially now. In half of my classes, American international foreign policy has been brought up by the professors. Sometimes they ask a leading question to get students to answer with an American example. For instance, in my environmentalism class we are studying Hobbes' "The Leviathan" in order to get a basis in conservative political theory. Well, our professor (who is as British as they come) says "Can anyone give me an example of where this might be happening now? Outside, right now." It was awkward, because the entire class was probably thinking the same thing, until one brave Irish student said, "Do you mean the I-word? Iraq?" There is constant ridicule about US imperialism, war, foreign policy, arrogance.

The craziest part is that myself, and some of my friends, have such a difficult time with this. Maybe we don't approve of being in Iraq. Maybe we hate George Bush, maybe we love him (I don't love him). Maybe, in fact, we think we were bamboozled, swindled, taken advantage of and had the wool pulled over your eyes. But at the end of the day - America is our home. It is so hard sometimes to hear people criticize it - this is the country where many of the students here have grown up. It's kind of like, it's okay for you to make fun of your best friend, but if someone else does, watch out, buddy. Well, that's what it feels like here. It's strange to be on the defensive about policies you personally disagree with. It is a learning environment, that's for sure.

I have been keeping track of what's going with the primaries and it's making my head spin. Yikes. The BBC Americas is my best bet (so bi-partisan by virtue of being in another country). It drives me crazy that here I am in Ireland and such an important race is happening at home. Luckily, a few of my friends follow politics too, so we can talk, and the ones who don't, I just take the liberty of informing them anyway, haha.

I've been on all three major candidates websites, and I have to say, I think McCain might be one of the bravest Americans alive right now and he definitely loves his country. I really wish I could agree with him, but unfortunately, we happen to disagree on almost everything. Environment, Iraq, health care. Damn. I suggest checking the below for nighttime reading.

I apologize if this is offensive to anyone who's reading this, but wow. Being in a foreign country really makes you think domestically.

www.barackobama.com
www.hillaryclinton.com