If the WORLD could vote

I recently came across this website called "If the world could vote". It was set up by three 20-something-year-old guys in Iceland, and it allows people from every country in the world to cast their vote for the person they would like to see as the next U.S. president. It's very interesting and I believe it's very telling of what WE as a country should do and who we should vote for. When I last checked it, Barack Obama had 87% of the world's vote. The really interesting thing is that Obama leads the vote in EVERY country except for Macedonia. This means Obama would win among people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Canada, Finland, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Zimbabwe... the list goes on and on. Here is a link to the results page.

One thing I've learned after teaching a class on strategic management for the past two years is that oftentimes in business, a company's employees are unable to truly understand their company's own strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to strengthen the business. Outsiders, however, have a fresher perspective and can more easily pinpoint the problems and solutions (cue the "consultants" from the movie Office Space!). The point I'm trying to make is that in this situation, America is the "business" and all of the U.S. citizens are its "employees". It is difficult for people to see the core problems of our country or what solutions would work best because we're all looking at it from a limited internal perspective. I truly think that some of these international countries probably have a better sense of what we need to do than we do. They get to see us from a macro level perspective, and as outsiders looking in, our country's strengths and weaknesses are a lot more clear to them.

For anyone who has traveled outside of the U.S. in the past few years, I'm sure you can vouch for me when I say that the international perspective on Americans is NOT strong at all. Other countries don't really like us, and a lot of that is based on what the Republicans have done over the past eight years. Another part of it is the interactions they've had with some Americans who travel abroad and fail to respect the customs and values of the other countries. Rather than adapting to the foreign culture and attempting to understand it, these travelers think that they can go to another country and act like rude, obnoxious Americans, which is why we have gotten that reputation. I've seen Americans act this way when I've traveled abroad and it makes me very embarrassed to be associated with them because we're from the same country.

Now, the entire topic of "negative worldwide reputation" makes me think about Sarah Palin and a lot of the things I've been reading about her recently. If we want to talk about someone whose worldwide reputation is in the gutter, it's most definitely hers. For those of you who don't believe me, here are a few excerpts from articles about her reputation worldwide:

1) The BBC asked people all around the world what they thought of Palin. Here's the reaction of one man from Germany: "A while ago she said that the war in Iraq was 'God's plan'. Can anyone really be that stupid to vote for the Republicans - again! These people have made America the laughing stock of the world and will continue to do so."

2) A writer from London's The Telegraph writes, "All the evidence suggests she lacks any curiosity about ideas, others and the outside world. In these dislocated times, of economic crisis and multiple threats on the foreign policy front, that is the last kind of potential leader America or the West needs."

3) And finally, a piece from a Huffington Post article written by a Jewish author, Matt Littman, on why he is afraid of Sarah Palin: "So, I am asking, how many Jews do you think Sarah Palin has met? Literally. 10? Two? One of the reasons Sarah Palin is so frightening is because her frame of reference appears to be so narrow. It would be one thing if she worked in Alaska but traveled extensively to get to know the country or the world. But she has chosen not to - which is her choice, and I respect it. Except for the fact that she wants to possibly run the country, and I am a citizen of this country, and Sarah Palin does not know people who share my background."

I think that the third quote is possibly the most interesting because it was written by someone in the U.S. who doesn't want to see her as Vice President because of her limited frame of reference and exposure to the world. I would like to point out that Barack Obama is the exact opposite of this - he has traveled all over the world, has connected with and understands people from all walks of life, all religious backgrounds, all races, etc. I see Obama as someone who most definitely understands the world and its view of our country. I see Palin as someone with blinders on who wants to think we are this great country and everyone else should do whatever we say "just because". That's just not reality though. She's oblivious. More than any of the other candidates (I guess that means McCain and Palin), I think that Obama seems to have the greatest ability to "step outside the country" and view the U.S. from more of a macro-level perspective, as I talked about earlier in this post. Maybe that is why the vast majority of the world would like to see him in office as well.

So...this was supposed to be a one paragraph post just about the website "If the world could vote". I'm sorry it turned into something much longer than that, and sorry that I once again had to drag Sarah Palin into the matter! :) Have a great Sunday evening everyone. Election day is just 15 days away! WAHOO!