First Few Days and Al Azhar

The first few days were very busy. In Jakarta I have spoken to the United States Indonesian Society (a group of people devoted to furthering connections between the two countries); the National Democratic Institute, the University of Indonesia, Al Azhar University, and the Foreign Ministry (equivalent to our State Department).

The University of Indonesia is a public school and Al Azhar privately funded.

I am here to talk about the American campaign and I have a computer presentation. In Jakarta the talks are not translated but I go very slow.

I have also created a presentation that is almost all pictures and numbers so my talk with it is very different from my talk without it so there is always a lot of fussing with technology.

In the other places they will be translated which means I have to cut them down in half. One important part of the talk are TV commercials I have for all of the major candidates – except for Governor Romney. I forgot those.

The Huckabee/Chuck Norris commercial is always a huge hit. Huckabee serves two purposes – the ad is really very funny and illustrates a lot about American politics (gun control, immigration, religion, the desire to like the candidate) AND everyone here knows Chuck Norris. He is more recognizable than all of the candidates except Obama.

The routine in Jakarta is to leave with plenty of time to get thru traffic. I didn’t find the people in Jakarta to be “late” or on “Indonesian Time”. People were early or late depending on traffic conditions. If you could improve the commute you would be president for life.

On arrival the driver negotiated a parking space with the person “in-charge” of the lot. Lots are unbelievably cramped and Indonesians may be the most talented parkers in the world. In fact, their driving skills in-toto are impressive. I have never seen anyone lose their temper in the face of the worst mess you have ever seen and driving is very aggressive. People pass all the time and EVERY Indonesian signal – flashing light, horn, whatever – means “I’m not slowing down.”. But they navigate in remarkably good humor. Its an odd combination of the calm and the frantic.

Parking lot people have vague functions. They wave you in various directions and sometimes the driver pays attention. They help you into the space even if you don’t need it, and they get a tip. They probably also watch over your car. In a city with 20 percent (estimates vary), such jobs are critical.

On arrival you are greeted by or taken to the people in charge. You sit down, exchange cards and talk. This is very helpful to a speaker because it gives you a chance to really know what people are interested in. A lot of Jakarta intellectuals have studied in the U.S.

My first trip was to Al Azhar University. It is a new school that combines Islamic Character education with Business and Engineering degrees. Companies donate to the school because they are looking for people with such skills. It is really an act of genius to combine the two – it makes everyone feel good and they raise a ton of money. The facilities were all new and the lecture hall was better than most at UMass.

The officials at Al Azhar had degrees from USC, MIT, and, I think, Ohio State. One had lived in Iowa in the Sixties as an exchange student and another had lived in Dayton Ohio for ten years. He had worked at the same place my father had.

The audience was about 50 people which included students and professionals. One former Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. and various and sundry former cabinet officials were there. To my surprise (and joy) two of our Teacher Alumni were there so I didn’t feel so alone. I was a little nervous.

There was the usual fuddling about with technology. I have a Mac and they are all set up for PC. I also have commercials to show and need sound as well so there is always a little anxiety but people are very technically competent and I’m used to this part of the deal so we started on time. I spoke for 45 minutes on the structure of US elections, the candidates, the “two” campaigns, the candidates, advertising, voting, and, yes, the electoral college.

To explain the electoral college I had a slide with three blocks representing the states of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo – all with 1000 voters and 3 electoral votes and I worked out the situation if someone won two of them by 2 votes and lost the third by 600. They got that for the most part.

At the end the questions were taken by a moderator. In a lot of cases they take three questions at once and you then answer – this is pretty efficient.

Like academics everywhere they take a long time to ask the question and it is often in the form of “I have one question, but it has three parts”.

The first days questions were similar to what I got the rest of the time. Here is a flavor from Al Azhar University.

Will race hurt Obama?
Will gender hurt Clinton?
What are he strengths and weaknesses of the candidates?
Will American foreign policy change? (this was always hopeful)
What is the Electoral College again?
What about Native Americans?
Are the recent shootings of students at US colleges political?
What do you think about Indonesian democracy?
What could Indonesian democracy do differently?
Does the Jewish lobby have too much influence?
Why do Americans own guns?
What is the method of fundraising in the US (and the role of money in politics)?
Who will win?
Is two parties enough?
What are the differences between Republicans and Democrats?