Erection

As mentioned previously, this morning I watched the election at a breakfast event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China.  The place was full of people from the embassy and American business types here in China.

When you first registered they gave you an wristband to show you paid, and they asked who you were voting for, red for McCain, blue for Obama.  I saw very few red armbands, it was a virtual sea of blue.  Every time Obama won a state there was a cheer, and when he was declared president the place erupted.  Remember, these are businesspeople.  You can look at McCain’s stance on trade versus Obama’s, but the people here were clearly more interested in America’s long-term reputation in the world than they were any short-term economic considerations.

What you are saying here Lee is actually very profound....it is the summary of the democrats point of view that Obama was selling some fixes that would in the long term be more profitable than the consideration of somewhat higher taxes, more regulations, etc.

While on line to vote yesterday (3.5 hours, thank you very much), I overhead this mini-debate where a centrist Obama supporter was saying to a McCainian, “Yeah, I know taxes will be higher, but I think if the economy is fixed in Obama’s suggested way (investments in blah, blah, blah), I will end up earning more net”

Well, I think a big part of it is that most Americans are relatively isolated from the opinions of most foreigners.  I don’t think for a second I was in a room full of Democrats, I think I was in a room full of capitalists for the most part, people who would otherwise be amenable to the Republican economic position.

I don’t think that the appeal of Obama to these types was that they believe in his economic policies, that doesn’t make any sense.  I think that they feel (as I do) that, regardless of any other consideration, Obama’s election can almost instantly begin to repair America’s image in the world.  In addition, by not actually providing a clear economic alternative—think of McCain as Socialist-Lite™—the McCain side never gave them a reason to trust the old curmudgeon over the young black guy full of hopes and dreams.

When America’s image is restored it will be good for business, even if Obama’s economic policies are detrimental in the short term.

When America’s image is restored it will be good for business, even if Obama’s economic policies are detrimental in the short term.

Yeah, because we all know that used-car salesmen give good deals to old women and teenage girls.

So what color was your wristband?