Every four years in the USA....

Post Reply New Topic

As you know, this year is an election year. You ever notice that all eyes of the world are on the USA when that time comes? As in, many media outlets from many countries, not just ours, are focusing on reporting the presidential election.

Why do you think this is so, everyone? Try and keep the discussion civil, please.

Because a bad choice of President may affect everyone, no matter where you live.

^ Good point. Anybody else want to add to this?

Every four years the USA makes me want to hang myself.

Because we have nukes and the world knows we don't need any more crazies with the little red launch button.

Every 4 years, the USA makes me fall in love with The Kinks all over again. They were cool enough to get themselves kicked out of America for 4 years.

The most likely reason is that for the time being the USA is the only superpower. And is still the worlds largest economy.

Because of the American foreign policy which has the America act as world cop.

Partially because the USA is so powerful. Who we pick effects the world far more than the average country effects the world.

Though we are the only remaining superpower there are other powerful countries but in some (China) they don't have elections, and in others the elections are shams that dont matter (Russia).

Some powerful countries are as democratic as we are, but they do elections differently than we do because they have a parliamentary system (the UK, India, France, Germany, most of the EU).I am guessing that that may also have something to do with it. Dont quite understand the Parliamentary system but as I understand it it makes the executive branch subservient to the legislative branch rather going for the balance of power between the branches that the US system attempts. The voters dont directly vote for the head person of the country. They vote for MPs who in turn pick from among their fellow MPs within their party which one of them gets to be the leader of the party. And the party that wins the most seats in the election to parliament gets to have their party leader double as the Prime Minister, and head honcho of the country equivalent to our President The result is that the elections are more centered on the party and less on the individual man/woman running for the top spot. Less drama on the campaign trail. Thus less attention from media abroad. Maybe.

A thought that came to my mind about election season, to paraphrase from the anime and card game Yu-Gi-Oh: "It's time to.... V-V-V-V-VOTE!"

What does everyone else make of what I said in my initial post?