US elections 2012: God Bless Negativity

Today, says American political journalist Michael Brendan Dougherty, ‘120 million Americans will choose who they don’t want to be president.’ Exactly — for all Mitt Romney and Barack Obama’s upbeat noise over the last few days, the 2012 US presidential elections have been motivated, entirely, by fear and loathing.

The key questions: Are you so fed up with Barack Obama that you can bring yourself to vote for Romney? Or do you hate the Republicans enough to vote for Obama? With all its attack ads and its mudslinging, this election has been negative populism from the start. It’s not liberalism vs conservatism; it’s anti-liberalism vs anti-conservatism.

Let’s not be pious, though. Passion and ‘values’ are hugely overrated virtues. Negativity is what democracy is all about, really; and it’s much more exciting. Certainly, it’s why we non-Americans are so interested in tonight’s result. Most of the Brits cheering for Mitt Romney don’t actually want him to be president.