Cheering for Obama with Cambodians

I wrote a similar piece to the story below for Southeastern Globe, a magazine here in Cambodia. It chronicles my bizarre election results experience. They requested a ‘humor’ piece and I was terrified. Asking people questions, writing down what they say, and condensing it into a story is easy. Writing funny is hard, and often falls flat. Below is my stab at it:

A basketful of McCain-Palin ’08 pins sat outside the entrance of the United States presidential election results banquet at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on November 5. The receptionist, after directing me to sign in, pointed to the leftover shwag. “Sorry, that’s all we have left,” she apologized. Damn, I thought. Greedy, liberal hands other than my own greedy, liberal hands had already picked out all the Barack Obama buttons.

Then I remembered how campaign paraphernalia from failed presidential bids become quirky relics that impress hipster circles back home in New York City. I still needed to go inside and watch the outcome of the election, but I had a hunch McCain pins were about to become fashionable, so I slipped one in my pocket.

Inside the reception hall, red, white and blue helium balloons, American flags and a solitary Cambodian flag lined a three-story atrium. Cambodian officials in collared shirts and dress shoes mingled with white reporters and NGO workers in short sleeves and jeans. The disparate crowd made awkward attempts at conversation.

Most of the foreigners, myself included, discussed their hopes for a President Obama. The democratic candidate won a mock election at the event, garnering 72 votes to John McCain’s 25. The Cambodians seemed less enthused. A recent Gallup poll of 73 countries ranked Cambodia the third most apathetic country toward the U.S. election, after India and Pakistan. Eighty-six percent of Cambodians reported no preference toward either candidate.

The dullness reverberating through the room that Wednesday morning reflected this attitude. It resembled a trade convention for a boring industry. For the amount of attention paid to the two giant screens projecting CNN, they could’ve depicted a PowerPoint presentation on insurance statistics. More attendees focused on the food than the screens, scooping scrambled eggs from steaming silver trays and nibbling tuna finger sandwiches.

In 20 years, members of my generation will reflect on where they stood when Barack Obama won the presidency. I can tell my children: “I was leaning against a buffet table, eating a bran muffin, letting the crumbs fall onto a saucer below my chin, and talking to an official about the decline in traffic violations.”

It wasn’t until I walked back over to the screens that I saw the flashing “Obama elected president of the United States” banner. The audience had made no audible reaction. The muffled murmur of chatting voices and the strums of a six-piece string orchestra silenced the broadcasters’ voices. The orchestra continued playing as McCain gave his concession speech. A few minutes later, the screens showed Obama stepping onstage in Chicago. The orchestra played on until an Embassy employee stopped them.

“We invited the people who would be directly affected by the outcome of this election,” U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Piper Campbell told me.

One of the officials I met, Legal Aid of Cambodia’s executive director Peung Yok Hiep, disagreed that it made much of a difference to her. Little of her organization’s funding comes from America, she said. She asked me how many candidates were in the running and whether Barack Obama’s wife was Spanish.

I longed to be surrounded by partisan Americans. I wanted jubilation, cheering, a high-five. Cambodians are more cautious. They doubt leaders can change their day-to-day lives. More than anything, they appreciate a free buffet. The air of pragmatism wafting through the room that morning killed my Obama buzz.

As I walked out, I chatted with Sarith Moun, a freshman at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. His professor selected 10 students from a political science class to attend. Sarith enjoyed watching the results, he explained, and liked Obama. Even better, he added—he got to miss class.