US Election Part II - the rest of the World

Should we care what happens in tonight’s election in the US?
I am sure that at least some of my American friends would say that it's nothing to do with you, you have no right to meddle in our internal politics. Which would of course be right if it didn't have such a direct effect on our everyday lives. Its a shame but unfortunately it has a massive impact on the whole World and we have every right to have an opinion - hell I even think we should have a vote!

So here is your chance - go here and vote and then go to the result tabs and see what the World thinks - its amazing.

At the time of writing the results indicate that 88% of over 800 thousand people from all around the World would vote for Obama if they had the chance. Out of 212 countries only 3, Macedonia, Albania and Niue (where the fuck is Niue?*) would give The Ovenchip and the Pig in lipstick the job.

So how come it is still close to 50/50 in the US? After all that Bush and his cronies have done to trash their own country and fuck up the rest of the World - the economy, the wars, the budget surplus to deficit etc etc. Isn't it just stunning that about 60 million people still support their ideals?

There are several reasons:
1. Single issue politics - lots of people only really care about one thing e.g. abortion, gun control etc. They will vote for a pig, if it means they can teach their kids the World is 6000 years old.
2. The American Dream, people have been sold the idea that they have to protect the rights of the 1 in 10,000 who made it big and got rich, just in case it happens to them.
3. Race - a lot of people just don't want a black man running the country.
4. Short holidays - sounds mad, but hang in there. Americans work the longest hours of anywhere in the western World and they have the shortest holidays. When you only get a week off per year what chance have you got of travelling abroad, experiencing different cultures and broadening you mind?
5. There are a lot of stupid people and there is premium put on being stupid. Unfortunately that has come to the UK and the rest of Europe as well - just check out how many people watch Big Brothers and think ignorance is cool.


* According to the CIA Worldfact book, it's a very small island in the Pacific. Out of the population of 1,144 one person voted McCain, so I guess we shouldn't be too hard on them