Danes Love US Politics

Sometimes I think Michael and I are both wearing big signs saying, "We are American, please talk politics with us"! Lately, especially at the gym, people keep talking to us about the latest news with the primaries, caucuses, debates and endorsements. Generally we both keep out of political discussions, but talking about it with Danes, somehow seems less confrontational and less stressful. It has been incredibly fascinating to hear how much the Danes are keeping up with everything and how interested they are in the events and issues. Even yesterday I was at IKEA and helped a lady wrap some of her glassware. She asked where I was from right away and then proceeded to tell me she had been keeping up with the presidential elections and was surprised to hear that we get to vote while living abroad. Apparently Danes are not allowed to vote in their elections if they are not living in Denmark. I believe they can make a trip back and vote early, but they must vote inside of Denmark. I am very excited to be spending the rest of the election season here in Denmark. I'm anxious to hear the insights and opinions from our friends and other Danes about our political race. Not that I am going to take any of their opinions or thought into consideration when it comes time to cast my ballot, but it is really amazing to hear what an outsider thinks is best for the US of A.

It is really great for us being over here right now. We are not slammed with political ads on the tv and papers the way I know we would be if we were in the states. We do however, see stuff in the Danish paper and news (CNN, BBC, and Danish News) Daily about the election. It is great because we can get the information we need and want when we want it. This is the first time either of us have ever started following the race so early on.

Besides the current events going on now, we constantly are hearing stuff about our two most recent presidents. From the time we moved here 5.5 years ago, until now, when Danes or other nationalities besides Americans, Canadians and Mexicans find out we are from Texas, 9 out of 10 times the first thing out of their mouth is... "Oh, Bush!" and it is usually pronounced more like "Boosh". By now, it has gotten pretty old but we still give a little bitty smile and say, "Yes". Not all, but the vast majority of Danes we have spoken with LOVE LOVE LOVE Bill Clinton. He visited Denmark in 1997 and was the first American president to do so. I suppose this is where a lot of their enthusiasm from him comes from. There is a checker at one of the grocery stores I go to. The first time he talked to us and realized we were American he asked us, "Do you know who my idol is?" and we said, "who?" and he said, with the most proud voice and face, "William Jefferson Clinton". Needless to say, Danes are almost always shocked to hear that many Americans do not share their enthusiasm for the man.

We are all registered to vote now from abroad. The process was quite easy and painless. We will receive our ballots in the mail and we will mail them back as absentee ballots. Our votes will be counted in the Texas vote since it was our most recent (and only) state of residence. If anyone else is wondering how to get all registed from abroad you can find all the informtion at this website: www.overseasvotefoundation.org.