How do German's view America's Presidential election? It seems the answer to that question would be "pointless". In an article published in Der Spiegel, they said "Democracy is about choice, but Americans don't really have much of a choice ... the people are helpless in the face of their power, as is the president". This article begins with a brief overview of some problems the East Coast has been facing in the wake of Sandy, and goes on to give a bleak view of our democracy. Later, the author mentions that "From a European perspective, it doesn't matter who wins this election. Only US foreign policy is important to us". This statement sends a very clear picture, if the previous writings didn't, of how Germans feel about American politics. And of course, if the message hadn't been clear enough, the article ends on a point of hopelessness, saying, "The downfall of the American empire has begun. It could be that the country's citizens wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how hard they tried. But they aren't even trying".
Is this true? Is America dying or is it just in the midst of a rough patch? Is there anything we can do to repair our reputation among Germany and the rest of Europe or are we forever going to be viewed as a failed democracy?
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