Eric's Beijing Diary

Last night Jordan and I went to the Bridge Cafe to hear Obama's acceptance speech. There was a lady there to give information on how expats can vote from overseas. She was quite obviously an Obama supporter. She didn't get many takers, because this event attracted several people from different countries who are curious about the American election, but are not US citizens.

I am always a bit amused when I see young Americans blasting Bush for his policies, when, in fact, as expats, they are beneficiaries of policies that have helped make China very rich. When they asked me how I felt, I told them that I do have some criticism of Bush, because it is no small issue when you invade a sovereign state with whom you are not at war, for reasons that turn out to be completely false. But I also reminded them that Bush favors outsourcing, which is China's bread and butter, while the Democrats will almost certainly do everything in their power to curb the number of jobs going to China.

When I made this point awhile ago, a friend reminded me that Bush is president of the United States, not China. I guess I should try to remember that, but I am sure that the Republicans would say that the Bush policies that benefited China have also benefited American businesses, because they have resulted in a greatly lowered cost of production. Anyway, it's going to be interesting.