What with superstars like Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z playing the campaign trail for Obama, music heavyweights swinging Romney's way, and other stars raging against the machine, American pop celebs have come out in force for the hotly contested 2012 U.S. presidential election.
But now one of Canada's biggest music stars, Arcade Fire's Win Butler, is also weighing in.
Writing two separate entries in McSweeney's special pre-election 90 Days, 90 Reasons feature, Butler – who is American, and was raised in a Mormon family in California – says that Barack Obama is perhaps the greatest president of modern times, especially when it comes to foreign relations.
"I want four more sweet years of Canadians liking Americans," he writes. "The Republicans will try to convince America that President Obama being a good communicator is somehow a bad thing. Often times politicians act as if the only use of public speaking is trying to get elected.
"In fact, this kind of personal charisma is perhaps the most direct way a president can pursue America's interests abroad. Being able to communicate in a compelling way, and engaging other countries as partners and adults, is in America’s best interest."
Butler points to Romney's international gaffes during a European tour earlier this year, and praises Obama for a recent speech he gave at the United Nations, in which he spoke about human rights, change in the Middle East and the status of women.
"I felt so proud – as an American citizen living in a socially progressive country like Canada – that our president understands that there are global moral imperatives that unite us all."
But Butler doesn't stop there. While other high-profile musicians including Michael Stipe, Michael Franti, Jack Johnson and many more have offered their thoughts in the McSweeney's feature, Butler is the only one to offer two reasons – and the second involves fear.
"I like that Obama isn’t trying to scare me," he writes. "I like that he ended the color-coded terror alerts. Do you remember those? Every ten minutes as you walked through the airport: 'Attention passengers, the Homeland Security Threat Level has been raised to orange,' in a weird, TV-announcer-on-Quaaludes voice. My world feels less dystopian with those half-useless, half-creepy announcements gone.
"I like that he cut the phrase 'global war on terror,' which implied that the enemy was everywhere and made of the stuff of nightmares. Obama’s preferred phrase, 'at war with Al Qaeda,' isn’t soft, but it doesn’t inflate the threat."
For the full text, see below – or check out all of McSweeney's 90 Days, 90 Reasons here.
REASON 86: Barack Obama is perhaps the greatest president of modern times at communicating directly with foreign populations. He has also changed the way the government communicates with its own citizens about the outside world.
I am excited for four more years of an Obama presidency for many reasons, but the one I am going to write about is selfish: I want four more sweet years of Canadians liking Americans. The Republicans will try to convince America that President Obama being a good communicator is somehow a bad thing. Often times politicians act as if the only use of public speaking is trying to get elected. In fact, this kind of personal charisma is perhaps the most direct way a president can pursue America's interests abroad. Being able to communicate in a compelling way, and engaging other countries as partners and adults, is in America’s best interest.
There was a great example of this over the summer when Mitt Romney visited London for the Olympic games. In attempting to pander to a U.S. audience and show how "presidential" he was, he ended up convincing our greatest ally that he’s prone to terrible gaffes that could jeopardize relationships with our allies – delicate relationships where a few misplaced words can do great harm.
The most compelling recent example of President Obama's abilities as a communicator came in his recent address to the United Nations. This speech was broadcast all over Canada and the world, and it detailed America’s vision for human rights, democratic change in the Middle East and its priority to change the global status of women.
I felt so proud – as an American citizen living in a socially progressive country like Canada – that our president understands that there are global moral imperatives that unite us all.
REASON 87: Because it’s okay for foreign countries to like America, and it’s better to not live in constant fear of shadowy foreign threats.
I like that Obama isn’t trying to scare me.
I like that he ended the color-coded terror alerts. Do you remember those? Every ten minutes as you walked through the airport: “Attention passengers, the Homeland Security Threat Level has been raised to orange,” in a weird, TV-announcer-on-Quaaludes voice. My world feels less dystopian with those half-useless, half-creepy announcements gone.
I like that he cut the phrase “global war on terror,” which implied that the enemy was everywhere and made of the stuff of nightmares. Obama’s preferred phrase, “at war with Al Qaeda,” isn’t soft, but it doesn’t inflate the threat.
I like that he tried to have the 9/11 conspirators tried in civilian court—to show that they weren’t scary super-villains, but low, low criminals.
There are dangers in the world, yes, but we don’t need to fear them blindly—we need to see them clearly. Obama acts like we should engage the world, not shrink from it.
I want four more years of confident, moral, level-headed engagement with the rest of the world.
—Will Butler
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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