Yesterday I did what German Journalists in New York do every day:
I knocked back a couple of beers in front of the TV. But I also did something that German Journalists in New York normally do not do. I watched a debate. “This one will be like a soccer-game”, they told me before. “It will be long, they will wear different jerseys – and after 90 minutes it ends 0:0″. I did not get it. Maybe it was a joke. So, the game was McCain against Obama. There was lots of excitement in the air. That was cause the beer was not cold enough.
This beer was as free as the country
Since a reporter has to go were it hurts the most, I watched the game with real Americans. They were 15 people! I tried to blend in. I did not wear my sandals. I wore shoes. It worked.
I am a journalist, so I am not a big fan of people. Especially foreigners. Normally the ones wearing suits and ties are OK – but the other ones can be really strange. Yesterday night I made an exception. I was in a private house and watched a private TV – set. „Private means you can not write those things off as company-expenses“, someone once told me. „A journalist has no privacy“, I replied.
I was excited, because I thought if this Mr. McCain does not show up, it would be another big success for my reporting. After all, I had just managed not to meet Bill & Hillary. This could easily be my next scoop. In my mind I prepared the headline: „How I was supposed to report on the debate, but McCain did not show up“.
McCain showed up. The debate began. Since I am a professional journalist in New York, I do not take any notes. It distracts too much from making up my mind on who I like better. Also it distracts from finding the best beer in the refrigerator. Miller – Lite? No, thank you! Budweiser? You must be kidding me!
As a German Journalist, I have high work-ethics: As every professional, I outsource the note-taking to some young and eager folks who apparently really like that kind of work. Thank you, very kind. I found a french beer in the refrigerator. The French are Germanys enemy, I learned in history-class, so I drank the beer really fast like it was a delicious enemy.
McCain and Obama deciding not to bomb Germany
Then I focussed on liking and disliking the candidates:
Here is what I liked: When McCain said he looked in Putins eyes and saw three letters.
KGB. As a german journalist, I knew how scary this is: To look into someone’s eyes, you have to get really close to them. As a Journalist, I had to look into many peoples eyes. Here is what I found:
One of our Chancellors had “I love Putin“ written into them. I was not surprised when he called him a „first-class-democrat“ later. I knew it was love, that was fooling his judgement.
Putin trying to get that KGB out of his eyes
I also looked other people in the eyes. But that is a whole new story. Back to the debate: The Americans seemed to enjoy it. I can recommend watching debates with Americans to German Journalists: Most of the time, the Americans are so distracted with the debate, they do not talk to you too much.
Chancellor Schröder still gots Putin-lovin´ in his eyes
I think mine liked McCain better, they were all going „whoooo“ when he said something. And when Obama spoke they were really quiet. Anyways, here is the article I submitted after the debate. My editor said he would call me back about it.
Who Won The Debate
Senior-Correspondent Hans Fritz reporting from New York City
Yesterday night McCain won the debate. He mentioned Germany. The score is 1:0 for McCain. In the course of the heated debate both candidates seemingly agreed not to bomb Germany. They were undecided on Pakistan, more decided on Iran and pretty sure that they had bombed Iraq. If Obama does not mention Germany in the next debate, the score will be 2:0 for McCain. But if he does, the race stays close. I am not allowed to like any of the candidates more, because I am a Journalist. But what I liked is when McCain looked into Putins eyes and saw KGB. The end.
Note: I am still waiting for my editor to call me.
