The not-so-cheerful truth of American politics

One of the aspects of American life that outsiders remark on most when visiting the US is the relentless cheerfulness of it. "How are you doing?" the convenience store clerk will ask you. "Have a good one," the waiter says as you pay your bill. Outside of the big urban jungles, you can't walk down a street without people tipping their hats or saying hello. (I'm from Texas, where small talk can be stretched both in content and syllables until it approaches infinity.) Some people love it, others find it oppressive. "Those people don't really mean it," critics complain, citing its faux chumminess and false bonhomie. "They don't really want to know how I'm doing."

Yet that quality of friendliness and the ability to relate is the key to American politics these days. George W. Bush is testament to the importance of the personal touch. "I want to elect someone I can share a beer with," was the rallying cry that swept in (or rather, eked in) the current president.

Americans focus on how their president makes them feel about themselves rather than what he can do for them. And in this election, middle-aged mothers make up a large portion of those who will be swinging the vote by trusting their gut.

(In contrast, "fancy" schools, coming from a "good" background or portraying yourself as anything other than down-home, ordinary and "just like you" is the path to, well, becoming the next Michael Dukakis. The also-ran.)

In today's T2 article about women voters in Middle America, Janice Turner writes about the women she met while visiting a town in Ohio:

My new friend Laura, 40, a former high school teacher and now full-time mother, has elderly parents who are contemplating divorce. It is the only way her mother, who has a severe heart condition, could qualify for state medical assistance. Obama's health policies would benefit her own family and yet Laura won't give him her vote.

Elsewhere in the piece, she mentions another woman from a quilting group:

Nancy thinks that Obama has no experience and worries that he's the most liberal of all senators, although cannot say why.

I think this ' just folks ' strength of Sarah Palin's appeal means that she is likely to win the debate tonight. She doesn't need to spout facts or even display knowledge of the issues. She just needs to remind viewers that she's a woman, a mother, a patriot who worries about the price of gas. It's possible that Joseph Biden could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but he won't do it by dazzling viewers with a knowledge of the issues. He'll do it by telegraphing the image of a clued-up straight-shooter you'd like to share a steak with.

The irony is that Barack Obama has come this far by presenting an idea - hope - that also encapsulates how voters want to feel about themselves. Contrary to popular opinion over here, Americans don't dismiss what the rest of the world thinks about them. For the most part they just don't know.

That's why elections in America so often boil down to finding the candidate a voter likes, or can relate to, or most closely resembles them. It's an emotional rather than a rational decision. Listen to these women talk in Turner's article and you hear it. Yet that's not the best criteria for being president, as the past eight years have shown us.

With so much riding on this election, it's time Americans think not with their hearts, but their heads, no matter which side they support. Otherwise they could wind up with a presidential team they like, but not the one they deserve.