Here’s what we saw in the American election

After $2 billion was sunk into the campaign for the US presidency Election Day 2012 left the world biting its nails as the battle between incumbent Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney was too close to call.

But on Wednesday, the better candidate won and must be quietly planning his second swearing-in as commander-in-chief of the world’s only superpower. And truth be told, Obama did not disappoint when he grabbed the world’s attention for the umpteenth time to send a message of hope, praise the mechanics that make this complex election appear seamless and surprisingly simple.

As Kenyans head to Ballot Day April 2013, it is instructive to learn a thing or two from the way Americans decided on Tuesday.

First off, there is nothing like laying out plans of action and detailed action plans by recreating actual scenarios. For, as they say, failing to plan is planning to fail when it counts.

Both campaign teams worked the phones, created voter databases, set up campaign teams, and offices across the US to serve the 300 million-strong population. The results were there for all to see.

In Kenya, the parties are still trying to cobble together working alliances and have not even held nominations yet. Is it any wonder we are all on the necks of the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission and Registrar of Parties to reassure Kenyans of the fairness and credibility of the March 4 elections.

Even as the campaign trail unearthed a motley crew of racists, bigots, gun rights activists, environmentalists, number crunchers, and analysts to argue for or against every persuasion under the sun, the two protagonists kept the debate clean, civil, and mature.

Not so here as the daily rhetoric, abuse, tribal innuendo, and invective echo through the political chamber, sweeping substantive issues under the ethnic rag.

As it is, Obama and Romney were vying to occupy the office of the most powerful man on the planet and could not afford to leave it to chance, to a slip of the tongue or to a surrogate! Would you care to say the same of the Kenyan scenario?

Their feet daily pounding state after state did not allow them the luxury of forgetting that they were still gainfully employed, one as Massachusetts Governor, and the other as President. No town hall question was too mundane to be denied an answer.

No hurricane was allowed to drown out the main issues on which the election was fought.

When Hurricane Sandy drenched the East Coast leaving more than 100 people dead, whole communities without electricity, homes reduced to matchsticks and SUVs flipped aside like the work of an ungentle giant, Obama and Romney called a campaign truce and took time to showcase their organisational skills, empathy and attempted to use the devastation to their advantage.

Credible result

Not so here. There were no presidential candidates flocking into Tana River to console the families of 100 Kenyans who were needlessly slaughtered. Instead there were recriminations and a blame game that is still resounding from the impotence such a calamity exposed our leaders of.

 The US debates stuck to addressing issues of job creation, America’s military and diplomatic forays abroad, trade with partners, manufacturing and competition. Domestics issues of a looming energy crisis, tax nets, levels of taxation, interest rates regime, the greed of banks, family values, marriage, universal medical care, immigration and schools.

Like Obama says, they are a great nation and for this reason, millions flock to their shores as illegal immigrants or through the coveted Green Card lottery for a chance to bite the American pie and a taste of democracy and real freedoms.

Even in victory, he went on to praise his challenger as a worthy opponent with whom they can join hands and take the US to greater heights. But not even the extra $90 million Romney pumped into the last-minute push could change the fact Obama trounced him and his running mate in their home states.

At the Chicago auditorium, there were no ugly scenes like Kenya’s December 2007 slugfest, table thumping and recrimination. All were agreed that the election was free and fair and the results credible.

Who, indeed, would not care to study this model of daytime democracy and borrow it for domestication? Kenya has a lot to learn, far afield from the euphoria and ethnically-charged local process that stares us in the face.

In the Obama-Romney match-up, there was much we can learn. Now that all of Kenya’s top leaders have scrambled to congratulate Obama, is it too much to ask if our own can practice what they learnt?