Brian Aldinger is no different from millions of other Americans showing support for Barack Obama with an Obama sign in front of their home or business. For Aldinger, however, the family business is Naughty Nuri's, an open-air barbecue joint renowned for ribs and martinis and now as a self-proclaimed Obama headquarters, selling T-shirts to prove it, in a hotbed of support for the Democratic ticket: Ubud, Bali.
"I'm abused every day by Europeans, Australians and people from all over the world about George W Bush," says Aldinger, whose role at Nuri's parallels that of Humphrey Bogart at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. "I didn't vote for him. I don't agree with anything George W Bush did. But I get blamed for it."
That's why, even though they live halfway around the world from the US and can tune out Britney Spears and the economic crisis in favour of a 5,000 rupiah ($0.50) handful of chicken satay sticks, a 100,000 rupiah massage or just a view of terraced rice fields against a backdrop of sacred mountains, Americans in Ubud are among Barack Obama's staunchest supporters.
"We're more interested in the US than Americans living there are," contends Chris Gentry, who rode up to Nuri's on his Harley-Davidson with Obama stickers on the fuel tank and swapped his helmet for a red Obama cap before sitting down on one of the rough-hewn wood benches. Across the world, Americans overseas are on the frontlines facing the anti-American sentiment that the Bush administration's policies have fostered. But it's something that Americans on this Hindu-dominated island of 3.2 million in the middle of Indonesia, the nation with the world's largest Muslim population, feel acutely.
On the opposite end of Ubud from Naughty Nuri's, more than 60 people have gathered for a voting party at the home of Dave Van Rooy, and anti-Americanism is on their minds as well. "In the 10 years, I've lived here, I've witnessed the image of our country collapse," says David Mendoza, standing at the table selling Obama T-shirts and sarongs that raised more than $2,000 for Obama and other Democratic party causes. "There wasn't animosity before, but it's growing."
An often-quoted Pew Research survey found Indonesians holding favourable opinions of the US fell from 75% in 2000 to 15% in 2003. The most recent polling put it at 30%, boosted by US aid to Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami but still depressed by the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Anti-Americanism manifested itself most visibly in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 and began with a small explosive planted at Bali's US consular agency to indicate the intended targets.
In his open-air, two-level living room stepping down the side of a lush river gorge, Van Rooy and three others are manning computers to print voting forms for guests. "All the states have their own rules and a myriad of complexities," Van Rooy says. "I'm a techie type guy, so I thought 'I can help out.'" Van Rooy began his local voter-assistance efforts in 2004. "I felt I had to do something," he says. "We've got to stop the craziness in the American political scene."
Excluding military, an estimated 6.6 million Americans live overseas worldwide, according to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas. If they were regarded as an independent voting bloc, they would outnumber the population in 34 of the 50 states. But Americans overseas are considered residents of their most recent US home states for voting purposes. They represent 2% of states' total votes on average - enough to make a difference in a swing state.
Voting by absentee ballot requires some doing, however, including registering and requesting ballots. Although much information is available online, absentee voting remains largely rooted in the 19th century, relying on a paper ballot reaching state voting authorities. Some states offer ballots online, but none offer internet voting. US-based courier FedEx is offering discount or free service to Americans across the world to post their ballots back to their states. But to take advantage, people have to get their absentee ballots, and FedEx isn't offering the same service to states on deliveries to expat voters.
The number of Americans living in Bali is admittedly small. They comprise perhaps 10% of the island's estimated 30,000 expatriate residents, and many of them are clustered around Ubud. (About 100,000 Americans are expected to visit Bali this year, a little more than 5% of the island's total visitors.) Still, as they say, every vote counts.
"We've got one McCain supporter who comes in here," Aldinger says of Naughty Nuri's. "And she's coming around."