Views on the American politics in Portugal

I just finished a very long and equally lovely Sunday almoço (mid-day meal) with a well-educated Portuguese couple. Shortly after the bacalhau appeared on the table, the conversation turned to the American election nearly upon us.  I asked my hosts what they thought about the two candidates.  This question led to a long and thoughtful conversation about the challenges facing our one world and how the election might impact our ability to respond.

Several things have become clear to me since I arrived in Portugal.   First, most Europeans cannot figure out why we elected George Bush, twice.   Second, they can’t figure out why we are not embarrassed by his policies, by his performance, and by him personally.  I’m not sure this is accurate given the President’s recent approval ratings.

Third, they wonder, in a kind of bemused way, whether Americans realize just how damaged our reputation is around the world.  They are not angry or even critical; they seem quite sad for us and wonder how and why we let this happen.  Fourth, if Europeans voted for the American President, Barack Obama would win.  Fifth, they think he will lose.  They know the polling data, but they just don’t believe that an intelligent blackman can win the presidential election.  I can’t tell if they are more skeptical about our electing someone who is black or someone who is intelligent!

Today at lunch, my hosts talked about the disaster of the war in Iraq. I noted that as we move toward greater educational centralization – prompted in large part by No Child Left Behind, they are moving toward more school decentralization.   We talked a bit about immigration, wondering why the free marketers who brought us unregulated credit markets and hedge funds would limit immigration which is, after all, just a different kind of free market in which bodies follow perceived opportunities.

In each case, they found fault with the paths pursued by President Bush and spoke knowledgeably about the ways John McCain seems to be following the same path.

Their interest in Obama was not unqualified.  They spoke quite positively about some of McCain’s positions and less positively about some of Obama’s.   They seemed well aware of Obama’s lack of experience.  They expressed positive interest in Hillary Clinton and wondered why she was not nominated.  They are clearly not swept up in Obama-mania.   But they are distressed at the damage that President Bush’s administration has wrought and desirous of a sea change (an apt metaphor for this nation of explorers!) in how America interacts in the world.  Obama offers that possibility; McCain, they think, does not.

What I heard today confirmed what I have been hearing and reading for weeks.  I have talked with students and colleagues at the university, with nurses and engineers from other countries who are studying Portuguese with me, with shopkeepers and restauranteurs.  The response is much the same.

In a class last week, I focused on empowering students in schools.  In order to develop ideas about “power over” (domination) and “power with” (the ability to get things done together), I used a variety of images.  I showed a photo of President Bush and Prime Minister Socrates.  The students began laughing as soon as the picture popped up.  I asked if they were laughing at the Prime Minister.  “Sim!”  And then I asked if they were laughing at the president.  Clearly they were.  Young adults view the President of the United States as an object of derision.

A few days ago,  I conducted a faculty workshop with my colleagues in the Departmento de Pedagogía e Educação.  We compared the American educational system under No Child Left Behind to the current Portuguese reality.  They asked me how things might change depending on who won the election.

I told them that McCain would reauthorize NCLB with relatively minor changes but that Obama appeared interested in more major changes, especially the use of multiple performance measures like portfolios.  Then I said that, based on polling, it looked like Obama would win.

They laughed, teasing that we said that twice before, and still Bush won.

I don’t know if they doubt Americans’ ability to select a well-qualified candidate or wonder about the fairness of our elections or simply don’t believe that we will elect a president with dark skin maybe all of the above.  I very much hope their doubts are misplaced.