Gotta finally answer this (DDD is my excuse, just finished Symphony of Sorcery ;P).
Oh, lol, well I'm not a language expert so I can't really professionally discuss on the different soundings, although I do know that German is sometimes considered hard because of many extra rules in grammatics.
As it's my mother tongue I have of course seldom problems with it. *ggg*
Yeah, pronouncing is truly easier, I noticed that as well when I learned French for four years (it's been long ago, and nope, I cannot do French anymore, I haven't used it for too long).
I could go with English way better than with French during those times although I was good in school with both back then.
Oi, you're quite a genetic "mix-up" it seems, ^___^.
It may also our European media overblowing things as well, I might assume. There are even some people around who paint the Tea Party as a mixture of Nazis due to their intolerant views and of neo-liberal speculants who only cater to the rich and want to help them even more with fiscal evasion. <__<
Like said, it's also highly subjective in terms of European communites and you can't even say that in terms of LGBT-rights Europe as a whole is "better" than the USA. It depends on regions, as in Eastern Europe and parts of the south there is still much prejudice around while middle Euorpe (Austra, Germany and the like) is moderate while Western and North Europe (France, UK and especially the Scandinavians) are already pretty far in those terms.
From another friend I know from the USA I also came to know that in the USA the Eastern Coast and Northern states are generally more tolerant.
Hmm, funny you mention Bill Clinton, who last time I checked, was the last US-President who left behind a balanced national budget without much new debts. The Republicans often cry that the Democrats have no idea how to work with money, but what? It was Bush who destroyed the balanced budget Clinton left by lowering the taxes for the Rich and starting pointless wars, and that was a Republican. Also, wasn't it F.D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, who managed to bring the USA back onto course after the Great Depression 1929?
Obama was really well-loved and welcomed around here in Europe, but several people I talked to share the same opinion as me that Obama is not resolute enough. He lets the Republicans and the lobbyists dance on his nose instead of slamming the fist on the table and don't putting up with their blockade politics.
What several people don't like though is that Obama seems to see it fit to lecture Europe how to do stuff economically, he should before look at his own doorstep. ;P
I can imagine that as I was also two years without a job. The politicians have not learned a thing from the crisis in 2008, the banks and stock exchange parasites are doing stuff the same as ever.
That's not only the case in the US though, European politicians are seldom better, lol.
In the end it's prejudice in most cases, or a stereotype like that the English are only drinking tea and are snobbish, Germans are hard-working, have no humor and eat Sauerkraut, lol.
Especially if the media really tend to point out always the most stupid examples.
I guess it has also to do partly with mentality, as several of the candidates especially from the Republicans come over around here as hillbilly and way too conservative.
Romney comes over (at least to me) as the icy cold business man who has no real regard for the people themselves, but only the economy as a whole, and from that field he caters more to those who already have so much money like himself. Obama on the other hand seems to be humanly likeable and genuinely warmhearted, but in the end ineffective in several fields up to now.
Although one has also to keep in mind that Obama cannot possibly undo all the damage Bush did in eight years that fast.
Yeah, I heard that too about the northern states being more liberal, and it's surely all very diverse just as around here. One should never make the error to generalize too much.
The media only focusing on the most vocal stuff is also a factor to consider, like right now with that chicken-restaurants-thingy....<__<
If one is not careful, the media can influence your opinion without you sometimes even noticing it.