Yes We Can

On Saturday, February 9th, it was not just the residents of Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington that flocked to the polls to vote. American voters, registered with Democrats Abroad (myself included) headed to none-other-than USA Donuts in Phnom Penh to cast our votes in the Democratic primary process. For the first time, Democrat expatriates get a say in the party nominating process, receiving a total of eleven delegates at the National Convention (there is no equivalent for the GOP).

So after running some errands, Shanti and I grabbed our passports and set off for USA Donuts. USA Donuts is a quirky restaurant/market owned by a Cambodian who fled to the U.S. during the Khmer Rouge years. Though we had never been before, I had met the owner during Water Festival, where he had set up a riverside stall. "I buy at Costco!" he yelled out to the throngs of people passing by. Now, several months later and at USA Donuts itself, it appears as if we have entered a Costco/Dunkin Donuts hybrid. Half of the shop is stocked with bulk goods (a dozen boxes of Kraft Macaroni and cheese in one package, enormous boxes of cereal, a gallon of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup, etc) and the other half is a homey donut shop.

When Shanti and I arrived at about mid-day there was a relatively sizable crowd of perhaps seventy-five filling out paperwork outside, browsing about in the store and, yes, eating donuts. Across the street from our polling place two tuk-tuks were parked with large Obama '08 banners across them. It was the perfect combination of American political culture and Cambodian transportation culture. After chatting a bit with several of the people we recognized and filling out a simple form, we cast our ballots. In exchange, we were given a delicious glazed donut hole. What better way to fulfill your civic duty in Cambodia than by meeting friends at a donut shop?

Though the full results are not yet in (Internet and fax voting continued through February 12th), I am pleased to report that Barack Obama won the paper vote quite handily (78% to 21% for Clinton). The story was covered not only in the local English paper, The Cambodia Daily, but also in the San Francisco Chronicle.