question for the foreigners

[WalterMitty]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

1) 1996 election
2) Appalachia, along with the Deep South and the Rustbelt. Very interesting voting patterns.

[bullmoose88]

Okay...my questions

it is difficult as hell to find American coverage of Foriegn elections (one is lucky to find CSPAN or PBS carrying a BBC feed)...

how well are US elections covered...and to what detail...are they covered in your country?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Okay...my questions

it is difficult as hell to find American coverage of Foriegn elections (one is lucky to find CSPAN or PBS carrying a BBC feed)...

how well are US elections covered...and to what detail...are they covered in your country?

A lot

[JohnFKennedy]

Okay...my questions

it is difficult as hell to find American coverage of Foriegn elections (one is lucky to find CSPAN or PBS carrying a BBC feed)...

how well are US elections covered...and to what detail...are they covered in your country?

Somewhat covered.

We heard of the results of the Democratic Primaries. There is reasonably good coverage.

[Huckleberry Finn]

1) 1984 and 1988 elections.

2) New England, New York, South, Northwest and Northern midwest (lot of people with Finnish origin there)

[Platypus]

1) 2000 election
2)most ineresting-midwest. Area I agree with most-northeast.
3) If there is something exciting, like the primaries, a lot. If, like now, there is't, not much at all. I haven't seen John Kerry on a news bulletin for over a month here.

[Gustaf]

1. The 2000 election, to some extent. But really after I read a book called "Marathon" about the presidential election of 1976. That's what led me to do some research about American politics, made me find this site and forum and got me really interested.

2. Hm. All, to an extent at least. I guess the Northeast if i have to pick one, more specifically New England.

3. Pretty good. It gets a lot more coverage than most foreign elections and people are interested since they well...dislike Bush to put it bluntly... It isn't always all that accurate, but then again it isn't on domerstic electinos either...

[??????????]

I haven't seen John Kerry on a news bulletin for over a month here.

Neither have I! ha haa

[minionofmidas]

How...? By growing up in a place strongly influenced by it. Just like you Americans really.
Which...? "fascinating"? Hmm. Maybe Indian Reservations.
3. Certainly more than elections anywhere else except in Germany itself.

[Michael Z]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

1) I've been interested in American politics for as long as I can remember... but it was possibly the 2000 election that turned a passing interest into a nerdy obsession. That and Europe is strongly influenced by America, of course.

2) New England, Pacific West.

Okay...my questions

it is difficult as hell to find American coverage of Foriegn elections (one is lucky to find CSPAN or PBS carrying a BBC feed)...

how well are US elections covered...and to what detail...are they covered in your country?

Very extensively. The media here follows US elections very closely. Even though not many people necessarily follow the primaries (unless a candidate has been found, in which case it's front page news), many stay up all night to watch the main election itself.

[Jens]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

1. I think it was late eigthies. I remember the Bush election and the first Iraq war.

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

3. The presidential election is covered very intensely in Denmark and quite often they take the time to do some indept research but that is probably because all major networks in Denmark are public or semi-public owned. They have a public service obligation!! It is the most covered election much more that Germany, GB, Norway or Sweden (Or EU)

[WalterMitty]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

[??????????]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

Why is so hard to grasp the deep south and prairie? We are mainly just good hardworking blue collar types who earn a honest buck and work for our families. I'm sure you have the type in Denmark.

[Gustaf]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

Of course, since the elections here in Sweden are always won by the same party...

But I disagree about parliamentary systems being boring...they certainly don't have to be.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

I find them equally fascinating

[YoMartin]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

I find multiparty systems more interesting.

[Michael Z]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

I find them equally fascinating

Ditto, though American politics does carry an element of gravitas which is desperately missing over here.

[Jens]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

Why is so hard to grasp the deep south and prairie? We are mainly just good hardworking blue collar types who earn a honest buck and work for our families. I'm sure you have the type in Denmark.

I was waiting for your reply I'm sure that most people in the deep south is quite nice. It's just that a lot of what is "comme il faut" like the right to have a gun is very different from Denmark. It the things that seems like obvious and absolute rights that are very different. I'm sure that many Americans would find the lifestyle of many Danes very hard to grasp. Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow (oh and why the trucks and big cars. I looks so silly when some youngster byes an American (That's what we call the cars ) and tries to drive around on the not very wide Danish roads )

[Jens]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

I find most politics fascinating, but size does matter I know more about American and French politics than Albanian or Mongolian (but quite a lot about Angolan politics - don't ask why!)
FPTP is easier to illustrate, but I prefere a good oldfashioned parliamentary election were you see the results from every region a follow the change in seats between the 10+ parties

[ilikeverin]

Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow

Don't you have the highest taxes in the world?

[Gustaf]

Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow

Don't you have the highest taxes in the world?

That's us!

Oh, wait, that's a bad thing...

[Jens]

Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow

Don't you have the highest taxes in the world?

We have high direct taxes, but if you look at the overall prize of living we (and the Swedes) are quite average. We don't pay for education, hospitals, tollroads and stuf like that. There is a lot of redistribuation from rich to poor
(PS I just saw that the Danish Gini-coeffitent was 17 USA 32 (1= everyone gets the same amount of money 100 = rich gets it all))

[??????????]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

Why is so hard to grasp the deep south and prairie? We are mainly just good hardworking blue collar types who earn a honest buck and work for our families. I'm sure you have the type in Denmark.

I was waiting for your reply I'm sure that most people in the deep south is quite nice. It's just that a lot of what is "comme il faut" like the right to have a gun is very different from Denmark. It the things that seems like obvious and absolute rights that are very different. I'm sure that many Americans would find the lifestyle of many Danes very hard to grasp. Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow (oh and why the trucks and big cars. I looks so silly when some youngster byes an American (That's what we call the cars ) and tries to drive around on the not very wide Danish roads )

Very different worlds I imagine. I believe the right to gun ownership is guaranteed in the off chance that the government should become so despotic we have no choice but to overthrow it and change it back.

[Jens]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

Why is so hard to grasp the deep south and prairie? We are mainly just good hardworking blue collar types who earn a honest buck and work for our families. I'm sure you have the type in Denmark.

I was waiting for your reply I'm sure that most people in the deep south is quite nice. It's just that a lot of what is "comme il faut" like the right to have a gun is very different from Denmark. It the things that seems like obvious and absolute rights that are very different. I'm sure that many Americans would find the lifestyle of many Danes very hard to grasp. Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow (oh and why the trucks and big cars. I looks so silly when some youngster byes an American (That's what we call the cars ) and tries to drive around on the not very wide Danish roads )

Very different worlds I imagine. I believe the right to gun ownership is guaranteed in the off chance that the government should become so despotic we have no choice but to overthrow it and change it back.

Congratulations on post nr 3000

I have heard that "despotic government"-argument before. I find it a bit paranoid and optimistic (you don't really grap your rifle and meet at the battlefield anymore. Those bloody tanks are in the way). But I still remember the surprice a friend of my mother had when her husband died. Hidden among his remains she found a Stengun (British WW2-weapon). She knew that he had been in the Resistance during the war but they had been maried for 30 years and lived 5+ places, but never had he told he about the weapon and every time they moved to a new place he took the weapon with him and hid it again!! Just in case the Germans returned (or the Russians - my hometown is less that 100 km across the sea from former East Germany).