Today is Election Day in the United States. I'd love to hear opinions of people around the world about who you think should win the United States' presidential elections — and your reasons why.

Most of the coverage here is focused on American voters only, and unfortunately international opinions tend to get drowned in the noise. Please ask to join and let me know why you'd like to participate (in English if possible, but any language is okay!).

Looking forward to your thoughts. The results will start coming in soon, so I'll do my best to keep you updated on those, too :)

The easy answer is Obama. The Republicans look crazy to most of the rest of us, as far as I can tell.

Thanks to Chris Long for tweeting at me with this study: 22,000 people across 21 countries doesn't exactly mean statistical significance, but it is a pretty telling graph...

Although I'm a social liberal in the Netherlands (and fiscal conservative..) I would have voted for Romney. Although I hope for a democratic Senate as that means that Romney has to place himself in the middle of the spectrum.

I think Romney has more capabilities in Finance, and since the US is doing worse than Greece (debt compared to National income) it seams fairly important to me to have a crisis-manager like Romney.

Furthermore, from what I heard he did good in Massachusetts. Working with both the Democrats and the Republicans and making things like Romneycare possible.

Most Danes would vote for Obama, but even if Americans see him as a socialist, in Denmark he is still considered pretty conservative.

Romney is, however, off-the-chart rightwing. I have seen his commercials where his campaign talks trash about the European economy, and the Danish socialism especially. Fact is, however, that the Danish people are considered one of the healthiest and happiest in the World, how about yours?

But while many Danes claim they love Obama, few actually know what he stands for. My guess is they care a lot about the man, and that Obama seems more genuine and in the end a really good guy. While he's not perfect, we think he's a step in a better direction than Bush, Romney or any other republican would be.

I forgot an important point: if Obama gets elected and does the same as he's doing now. That would be a sign to the Eurogroup (Council of ministers of Finance of the Euro-zone, de facto the government of the Euro-zone) - including Greece - that not cutting budgets and just keep spending is acceptable.

As a Canadian, we have a unique view due to our proximity. The general consensus here is that you are lucky to have Obama. It is confusing why it is "so close".

All I would ask is for Americans to remember that you are picking a President for all of us.

Probably the wrong place for this argument, but, austerity measures *are* the wrong response for most economies. Case in point, Australian economy.

The simple fact is that stimulus works. Europe's problems are due to the fact that extending your currency union beyond the largest of the European economies was a dumb idea and your banking system is a medieval mess and not regulated properly.

Obama would be a moderate right winger in most other countries; a Sarkosy. The Republicans are off the scale extremists.

Lots of western Europeans here now :) Just added a few others from elsewhere. Hope they'll chime in, too. (You each also have a +1, so add a friend from abroad you think might want to share!)

@Scot + @Kevin - Which of his policies (or lack thereof) make him seem centrist/conservative by comparison?

@Libby, well the lack of 'single-payer' medical system for one! Obama Care was a sop to private industry. I guess the general American bias to private industry even among Democrats would put him in the centre-right. The centre-left would definitely favour much more state regulation than the Democrats allow.

Also the tendency to foreign policy unilaterism (although I suspect that's more an expression of American global power than political or ideological concerns).

I'll just answer this too :p, Obama definitely would be centre-right in Europe (probably like the Christian Democratic parties). Obama's social-security policies would be called right-wing in NL. And why doesn't he wants to raise the taxes a lot? And even without the tax-sale-thing you have semi-degressive tax-system. While we can pay up to 52% and our system isn't really progressive! (if you earn around 57.000 euro's a year).

Furthermore we have a lot more rules on fiscal products etc.

Obama? for example, he's pro-abortion, but it's not being covered by your insurance unless the pregnancy is the result of a crime. In Denmark, abortion is free. Period.

Then there's the whole gun thing, and while I think most Danes understand that that is a very touchy subject in the US, a lot of us wish he would use his last four years to do something about it.

Same goes for the death penalty, which is a huge no-no for Danes. But I think a lot of us feel that Obama is just going conservative on those issues because he can't afford not to, but maybe that's because we would like him to be more left-wing than he really is.

Kevin I'm not sure those issues are how Obama feels but more what is politically do able. The political climate in the US is such that in order to get something done, it requires so much compromise that the legislation ends up compromised.

Having health care cover abortion would give the right so much to campaign on it would distract from the legislation. Guns are another one. I think most Democrats want bans on assault weapons and stricter gun control, but that is politically dangerous. I think Obama is fighting the fights he can win.

My natural, first-pass, response would be as @Scot's above: Obama. If I were American, that's probably how I'd vote (if I bothered voting at all).

However, it's becoming clear that under any 'business as usual' scenario, our planet is heading for 6 degrees of global warming. That changes everything, as both presidential candidates are nothing if not 'business as usual', with their shared extremist pro-fossil-fuel agenda.

The obvious conclusion is that the world cannot afford an economically strong America. The very best we can hope for is for its relative decline to accelerate, and Romney, with his espousal of anachronistic laissez-faireism, would be the best bet for that.

Jon, exactly, which was what I was trying to say. But what I was wondering is whether it's about that, or if it's just because a lot of us are getting sucked into the 'Change' and 'Fired up? Ready to go!' magic.

Our media tends to portray Obama as more left-wing than he really (what ever really means) is, especially because our left-wing parties, who are as far to the left as the tea party is to the right, say they would vote Obama (then the media typically cuts off the part where they note that he's best of the worst).

I get that he's fighting the fights he can win, I think a lot of us do, which is why I made the point earlier, that while Obama isn't perfect, he's a step in the right direction.

Kevin the bigger issue is that the US political system is very broken. Anyone you put in there is working in a broken system. It used to be said that US democracy was a model for the world. I don't believe that is true anymore.

America is a centre-right country. Most Presidents end up in that place regardless where they start.

(i'm an australian living in new york): personally, i'm left-of-centre, so i'd love to see president obama continue to a second term. it's clear he hasn't delivered on all his promises, but let's be honest, there were some lofty goals there which have clearly taken some serious compromises to get across the line. i'd admire his spirit, his dedication and his integrity. governor romney has plenty of the former but is sorely lacking in the latter.

in australia, we endured years of watching our prime minister fawn over president bush and repeatedly ignore the voice of the australian people wrt the war in iraq and guantanamo bay. we're clearly advocates of thick govt in AU, but i think president obama strikes the right balance here.

@Jon + @Kevin - I see what you're each saying.

FWIW many in the U.S. would say that our liberal candidates ending up compromising to center-right is by design (cf. checks and balances), not a symptom of a broken political process. The States have never been as wholly liberal as other countries — western Europe most especially — and the fact that our liberal candidates have to temper some of their more extreme viewpoints is... sort of the point.

What may decide this election, though, is the fact that Democrats have (according to some) done this more effectively than Republicans. (i.e. Democrats have ended up more center-left than Republicans have center-right.)

I'm mexican and I agree with @jlax we feel Obama has being doing a pretty decent job and that americans are lucky for having him, thinking that Obama has the US where they are is a really dumb way of looking at things. What is affecting the US right now is not the result of Obama's time in office, is the result of more that 8 years of bad decisions.

What I've seen in the last weeks that is making this election so "close" is that a lot of americans are voting with their love (or hate) as their drive. They see campaigns as popularity contests, regular people has no interest in discuss about politics unless of course, it affects them directly.

We can blame republicans or democrats about US actual economic situation, but what about war? Does being in war for 12 years affect US economy or not? Who to blame?

@Miquel War is really good for the economy (Hitl er got Germany out of a major recession and ultra-inflation by starting WW2). The only problem is paying the war, this resulted in debt in the US.

"They see campaigns as popularity contests, regular people has no interest in discuss about politics unless of course, it affects them directly."

@Miguel - Is this the same or different in Mexico?

@Libby Enrique Peña Nieto our elected president (he won on July and will take office next december) is considered to be "handsome", also he married a couple years ago a famous telenovela actress. 45% of mexicans are considered poor and our education levels are really low. We have more than two parties and media plays a big role, so I have to say that unfortunately it's worse down here. That is why I am shocked that a so called first world country has this same attitudes towards politics and politicians.

@Raimond maybe not what I expressed, but that is exactly my point. After 9/11 a los of US europeans allies helped and supported war but what about now? Who's paying war? So who americans have to blame for their debt?

I've lived in Ukraine for 17 years, in the US for 10 (including college), and I'm now in Canada. I think Obama should win. No president is perfect, but he's got the right principles and he sticks by them. I also understand that building takes much longer than destroying so I don't think everything should have been rosy and amazing after just 4 years. The other choice is a venture capitalist who's changed his positions like a used car salesman, especially in the past month. It's a clear choice, imho.

@Miquel Ah, okay. Yes that definitely is a problem and I see a new war coming so that will not help. I think that the US can't just start a war anymore if it's not really, really necessary.

And yes, for that part of the debt you can definitely blame the Republicans (Bush).

@Miguel You express shock, but perhaps Mexico is fairly representative of "the future" in that respect.

Here in Australia, we have distinct advantages: a well-informed population (relative to the US, there's no comparable underclass), compulsory voting, and a parliamentary system (a PM, no president). But despite all this, our system is becoming de facto more "presidential" all the time, with increasing focus on the persons of prospective PMs.

It seems that under the influence of corporate/media/celebrity culture, political systems naturally regress towards the personality-driven, however good the safeguards.

@Cris it's amazing how much we learn here @branch! We have six years terms and the last one is so exhausting, people get tired and that makes voters to stop listening or getting informed, social media played a huge role with fake trending topics and bots all day long. Presidential figure is losing strength and yes, the corporate/media/celebrity system is reigning more and more political power.

@Alex: all that's true, but under Obama's intelligent stewardship there's a good chance that the US economy will improve, and he's threatening to increase oil production. If those happen, we're all cooked.

@Miguel @Cris That corporate/media/celebrity system is getting more and more important in all the countries with free press. Especially the media are important nowadays, corporate is really important of course (they pay the campaigns). In NL we don't really have importance of celebrities. But I can understand it.

@Raimond: you say in NL celebs aren't so important: but do election campaigns not focus on politicians' lives/personalities? Does this result in more focus on policy? If so, what's your secret?

@Cris - "Intelligent stewardship" :) A phrase that we'd never use to describe ourselves here in the state. If anything, it would be considered a criticism of Obama's/democratic government.

*the States

@Cris That's right, the personal live of our candidates wasn't discussed at all at the latest elections (september 12th) although one candidate used his children in an ad. And we do more focus on policy.

I think it's the result of a more-party-system (21 last time) where we need to form coalitions. It's more important how the can negotiate and how there policies would be than their personal lives. Furthermore, a lot of our candidates just doesn't show their children and husband/wife off. And that seems to work (our PM is a single man).

Interestingly, Obama's celebrity status has gone down quite a bit here compared to 2008. During the last election, the media loved to harp on his campaigning style in part because of how much better it was than McCain's. (Can't underline how awful the McCain/Palin ticket was at marketing themselves by comparison.) The "Yes We Can" and "Hope" memes were super powerful and certainly a large driver of the youth vote, but by the end of that election and certainly by now, everyone got tired of talking about his celebrity. I've been impressed how issues-focused it's been this time.

That said, he still makes regular (and popular) appearances on talk shows, Michelle is incredibly well-liked, etc., which is something that Romney can't really say.

@Raimond: right. Do you think the multi-party aspect (presumably a consequence of proportional voting?) is more important than the cultural? Here in Aus we have distinct anti-intellectual currents in our culture (like the US, see @Libby's point above). Serious policy discussion, as opposed to "robust debate" (i.e. shouting at each other), isn't blokey enough for our politics. Even the advent of a female PM hasn't really changed that.

Our *system* is quite strong, but our *culture* doesn't value intelligence. The US seems to have both a poor system and an intellectually-thin culture. Maybe in NL you are lucky in both respects ;)

Now that @Libby says that, this is the most powerful Obama image that was noticed here in Mexico (the janitor looks latino). If it was a set up or not, we won't now but he is a charismatic individual.

On the other hand, Romney and his 47% video depicts what everybody imagines when you listen to the word "politician", a liar.

know*

@Cris Culture may indeed be an important thing now you're saying it. The people of the State of Nederland (most important part of the Netherlands) are very sober (Google suggests that translation..) so that may be a point.

Our system is very fragile: normally a house is chosen for 4 to 5 years, but in the last 10 years we had 11 elections for the house due to the government collapsed 10 time. And that's probably the result of our more-party-system (seems to be indeed the result of proportionally voting).

Just as a quick addition from a Canadian expat in London, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. It's after midnight, so this might not be the most eloquent post.

The majority (nay, ALL) of my non-american social circle is rooting for Obama to win. My non-american friends in London are from all over the planet, and I actually don't know a single person who supports Romney. No joke.

Personally, I find it extremely difficult to take Romney seriously. His extreme right-wing views and stance on Women's rights actually scare me as a left-leaning Canadian. Abortion, gay marriage, healthcare, religion are not especially hot topics for us north of the border, so it's very surreal for me to watch the conversations taking place.

Australia's marvellous ABC reporter asked on TV last night: "What is it about a typical American campaign event that reminds me so irresistibly of a Wiggles concert?" (the Wiggles are a band much loved by Aussie primary school kids: thewiggles.com.au).

I mean not as as a snarky aside, but to point out something about non-US perceptions that I think isn't well-understood in America: to many of us, the US, far from being the centre of "The West", is a kind of slightly weird outlier.

And I think we mostly see US politics as odd also: the Democrats at least make noises resembling our major parties, so are at least intelligible; but the Republicans could not, out here in the mainstream West, be anything other than a fringe group.

Oops. ABC is our national broadcaster. And they do have more than 1 reporter, but the one in question was @annabelcrabb;

FWIW A friend just pointed out that I should be representing myself as speaking only as myself, not as America. A valid point!

OK, as an Australian speaking for myself alone, I confess to being delighted that it looks very much like an Obama win. Happy for some very relieved US friends.

Obama!

I work at home, so can't personally gauge reactions, but at my wife's workplace they are apparently partying harder than for your average #Aus election.

Ah, I got to bed when I thought that Obama had won (10:40 in NY, 4:40 here). Luckily I was right..

So, congratulations to everyone in this Branch, as you where all pro-Obama. And congratulations to the people of the US :) - have a great night, have a great four years to come! I'll see you guys in 2016? ;)