Since I've been in Malaysia the South Carolina Republican primary and two Florida debates have taken place. Before I go home the Florida Republican primary will sally forth, and with that perhaps more clarity about whether Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney will face President Obama next fall. Meanwhile, the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday was the opening shot in his re-election campaign.
Here in Malaysia such concerns feel very far away. Yesterday we drove home to Kuala Lumpur from Penang, stopping in Ipoh to pick up some wonderful salted chicken. Traffic was thick, as people wound down another Chinese New Year. The Year of the Dragon began on Monday and the country has been in holiday mode all week. Gong xi fa cai! Kung hei fat choy!
Life rolled on as usual here, albeit at vacation pace, and the petty posturings of US politics felt mighty small indeed.
And yet I've kept up with the drama, for reasons I find hard to explain because I don't understand myself. I'm very far from a patriot. After encountering the always dour Noam Chomsky 20 years ago, I lost whatever residual belief I had in the unique goodness of the United States. (Chomsky's commentaries are tendentious and over-reaching, but he does have a point.) And even if I had a flag in my front yard I'm with Michelle Obama about the futility of politics for causing social change. Meanwhile her husband--who officially supports our wonderful political process and traditions--has to put on his game face and pretend that all the machinations make things better.
And still I pay attention, despite all my disillusioment. And when I'm back home I'll pop into the Politico app for breathless, needless up-to-the minute updates. Politics is the soap opera for nerds. I just wish it mattered.