One big difference between the U.S. and Indonesian presidential elections is that while U.S. citizens were well informed about their candidates before voting earlier this month, it’s likely we won’t know our candidates at all when we cast our votes in July.

Voting for a president in Indonesia is an exercise of “buying a cat in the sack”, to borrow the popular Indonesian expression. We know they move and meow, but not much else about them. There remains the big risk of picking the wrong cat.

By contrast, the U.S. election is like a cat beauty contest, where the candidates are paraded before voters who scrutinize them right down to the smallest of details. The risk of picking the wrong cat is virtually eliminated.

Americans get the Cool Cat, while Indonesians will likely end up with the Smelly Cat.

Obama underwent close public scrutiny for more than 18 months before he won the contest. He took part in grueling public debates, initially with competing Democratic presidential hopefuls including Hillary Clinton, and then with Republican candidate John McCain a number of times.

When the time came to choose a leader, many American voters were able to see beyond the charming prose and oratory style of Obama’s early campaigning, and focus on his vision, philosophies, values, principles and his politics. 

Voters were familiar with his character and temperament, and of his approach to handling difficult situations. Equipped with this knowledge, they were able to determine what sort of leader he would become if they made him commander-in-chief.

There were investigations into his background, his family, his friends, his personal history, school days, his working life and election as senator in 2004.

He survived accusations and negative campaigns waged by his opponents, such as allegations he visited a madrasah in Jakarta, or that he associated with racist black personalities, such as a contentious preacher.

His middle name, Hussein, named after his Kenyan Muslim father, was questioned obviously to instill fear and doubt among Americans still traumatized by 9/11.

The U.S. media also went through voting records from the Senate, and all his earlier speeches, to ensure his policy stances were consistent and he wasn’t backpedaling on previous arguments. 

If Obama had any skeletons in his closet, surely the U.S. public would have known by now. If he had some character flaws, they would have heard all about them, and therefore must have accepted him for what he is.

Anyone who survived this much public scrutiny surely has demonstrated enough courage and strength to become president of the world’s most militarily and economically powerful country.

Americans feel comfortable with him, and now so does the rest of the world.  

Now, how many people can really say the same about Indonesia’s next president, whoever he or she may be? What do we really know about the candidates’ policies, values, vision, character or history?

Not a whole lot.

We don’t even know that much about the incumbent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri, certainly not as well as Americans have come to know Obama.

Our knowledge of the other presidential wannabes, including Wiranto, Sutiyoso, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Jusuf Kalla, is even more vague.

With the presidential election less than eight months away, we don’t even know who will be running for the top job, or who their running mates will be.

We will have to wait until parties officially announce their nominations, which most have not yet done.

In the absence of a primary election, the nomination process rests solely in the hands of the party leaders.

Now that the parliament has decided a party must win 20 percent of the seats, or 25 percent of votes in the April parliamentary elections, in order to nominate a presidential candidate, we know there will realistically only be three contestants in the July presidential election.

We know Yudhoyono will be nominated by the Democratic Party, but we don’t know which other small parties will unite with him to make up the necessary 20 percent.

Megawati is the only certain candidate, as the PDI-P is likely to win enough votes. The other large party, Golkar, has not even named its candidate, with chairman Jusuf Kalla, currently vice president to Yudhoyono, delaying the announcement until after the April elections.

This gives the public (and media) less than three months to learn about our presidential candidates before the election in July. This is hardly enough time for voters to make a truly informed decision.

So much for our democracy and the direct presidential election. Under the present system, there is no guarantee we will get the right person for the job.

We will end up voting for a president, make a big mistake and be unable to rectify it for another five years, unless we change the system.

We will end up with a smelly politician running the country.

But blame the system, rather than the elected president.

Smelly cat, smelly cat, it’s not your fault.

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