5 reasons I’m jealous of American politics

1. American politicians are like rock stars. Whereas Canadian politicians are like the nerds who got beat up in high school. Come on. You know forty years ago some jock was roughing up Dion for his lunch money. I remember about nine years ago I was flying in to Philadelphia to visit a friend when the plane started circling the airport. The pilot came on and explained that we had to wait to land because President Clinton was flying in at the same time. I suddenly felt a little giddy. I was in the same place as the President of the United States. I was sharing airspace with Bill! Cool! Then I thought, what if it were Jean Chretien, Prime Minister at the time, who was the one flying in. Totally different. Then I would have just been annoyed that he was delaying my landing time.

2. The choices are clear. During our election (Yes, American friends, we did have one! I know, blink and you missed it.) I kept lamenting, if I were American I know who I’d vote for. But up here it was confusing to me. At least five different choices. And not different like Republican vs. Democrat different. The Green Party vs. NDP differences were more subtle. And then there was this notion of strategic voting: giving your vote to whichever party had the better chance of beating the Conservatives depending on what riding you were in. Huh? I know I am woefully under informed when it comes to politics in general and Canadian politics in particular but I just wanted to ask someone, if I would vote for Obama in the States then who does that translate to in Canadian??

3. The debates. Now my fellow Canadians, be honest. How many of you watched the American Vice Presidential Debate instead of the Canadian Leaders’ Debate on October 2nd? You are not alone. It was hard not to be sucked in by the guilty temptation of potentially seeing Sarah Palin humiliate herself on internationally broadcasted television … again. In the end she did alright and I felt guilty so I watched a recording of the Canadian round table discussion online. But holy Snoozeville, Batman!

4. The glamour. Whether it’s the controversy over Palin’s pricey wardrobe, the talk about the return to Camelot now that an attractive younger couple are heading to the White House or comparing Michelle Obama to Jackie Kennedy, there’s a glamour to American politics. One that is completely absent from Canadian politics. Look what we have to work with. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against Elizabeth May. I thought she came across very well, intellectually, in the debate and in fact, I even voted Green. But it’s hard to imagine anyone referring to her as a MILF.

5. Barack Obama. I can’t be the only Canadian who, swept up in the excitement of the election and the emotion of the historical democratic win, felt a tinge of jealousy over the American’s shiny new president. I mean, it was such a long run, hard fought, emotionally charged race. To see the world celebrate as the U.S., with record numbers of voters flocking to the polls, voted in its first African American president. Then to see his acceptance speech, his beautiful family, grown men and women listening to him in tears. With images of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. rising from the past, to imagine the country forging forth on a new path, looking to this man to lead them … it was all so moving. In Canada after our own, in the words of Jon Stewart, “adorable” election, with decidedly mediocre numbers of Canadians voting, we were left with… the same damn guy. Crickets chirping. Ho hum.