In the series ‘famous rock stars endorse the president’s candidature’, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler has joined Jay-Z and Springsteen to support Obama. However, he hasn’t written a new song or even participated in a giant presidential rally, he has in fact written an essay for the blog 90 Days, 90 Reasons, in order to convince you to vote for Barack Obama. His argument is simple, I’m American, I live in Canada, and Obama is a great communicator, which is making US-Canada relations very smooth, so vote for him!
At least he is admitting the reason is totally selfish, but Win, come on, you have lost an occasion to write about all the real reasons to vote for Obama! I got it, Obama is a great speaker, but what about the economy, the health care – and as a person living in Canada, you would have had a lot to say about this! – what about pro-science versus pro-religion, Neon Bible guy? Didn’t you write ‘Not much chance for survival/If the Neon Bible is right’? And what do you think will happen if Romney and his cohort of anti-abortion, anti-stem-cell research, anti-women-and-gay-rights minions are elected? What will happen if the climate-change deniers, evolution discrediters, coal and oil abusers are in power? Because if we elect Romney the whole crazy gang comes in the picture, and we don’t have a chance for survival. Anyway this is what Win Butler wrote:
‘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.
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada’