The Final US Election Thread

[CountArach]

What time should i start watching the news ?

Basically i want there to be a rough idea before i start watching... rather than time filling... time in GMT please...

Indiana polls close in an hour and a half, and then the other states start coming in an hour or so after that.

EDIT: here you go LG:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...Key-times.html

[Gregoshi]

How do absentee ballots work in the USA? I don't believe that there are any electors representing voters living abroad, so do they just tally your vote in the state you were born in? Lived in last?

EMFM, you get a ballot for the location where you are registered to vote, so you vote for the same national, state and local races as if you were at home and going to your polling place. That's how I voted when I was away at uni as I was registered at home, not at uni.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Gah! Why oh why do the Americans have elections in the middle of the night? Can't they just organise them during the day like us civilised Europeans!? Now I'll have to go to bed later without knowing the result.

Oh well. I think I'll get up half an hour earlier tomorrow morning to catch up on the results over breakfast.

Also; voter intimidation in Philadelphia by a Black Panther guy with a nightstick. Good grief.

That is simply outrageous. What on earth is he thinking!?

Let's look on it from the upside. Whatever the outcome, this election has shown that it is possible for a Black man of ambition and intellect to become anything, including president.

Some Blacks may think that Obama is finally going to solve their rent problems. Or, as in the case of this man, at last make him king of the hood. On the contrary. I think our nightstick wielding brownshirt will soon discover that Obama just blew away his excuses.
Obama is not his saviour. Obama is a scathing indictimtment to him. Obama is the floodlight that lightens up that big 'I am an imbecile' sign on this punk's forehead. Some Black men make it to president. Others can't find it in themselves to get a job or go to college and would rather waste their lives intimimidating others on the streets. Fine. Obama shows, that this is a matter of personal choice and merit, not a matter of circumstance.

I think we may see a paradigm shift in race rethoric in America after today. And indeed elsewehere. Even after seemingly having gotten used to it over the last year, (If elected) a Black man as the most powerful man on the planet is an earthquake. It will send shockwaves through how we conceive of society, of America, and of race relations. Whether as a positively as a rolemodel, or negatively as an indictment, the discourse of excuses will change to one of less tolerance of excuses.

[Lemur]

Wow, some people get started early. Normally you'd wait until an election had been ratified before demanding: Impeach Barack Obama.

[Hooahguy]

Wow, some people get started early. Normally you'd wait until an election had been ratified before demanding: Impeach Barack Obama.

wow........
*shakes head*

[Xiahou]

Here's some fun stuff from Phildadelphia. Two men dressed in Black Panther uniforms appointed themselves as "guards" of a polling place- one of them was brandishing a nightstick.

Here's some coverage on FNC where they interview the poll watcher who called the police and had the armed man removed- his compatriot was allowed to remain.

-The first link is a cell phone video of the two men, the second is an interview with a GOP poll watcher who recounts what he saw/heard.

So... what were they thinking?

[CountArach]

Lemur's disease Xiahou. CR beat you to it.

[Xiahou]

Lemur's disease Xiahou. CR beat you to it.

Ah, I found it. Way to stay on the breaking news CR- found out about it hours before I.

[Devastatin Dave]

Looks like Obama's implementing his "civilian defense force" early. Looks like our American elections will be resembling African ones. Change....

[CountArach]

Looks like Obama's implementing his "civilian defense force" early. Looks like our American elections will be resembling African ones. Change....

Do you have any evidence that Obama or the Obama campaign is tied to these incidents?

[LittleGrizzly]

Looks like Obama's implementing his "civilian defense force" early. Looks like our American elections will be resembling African ones. Change....

ohh come of it dave, Obama's looking good for the win why the hell would he do something like this ?

Edit: thanks for the times CA, 1am or 2am looks like a good time to call it a night, i would love to stay up all night and watch the elections but unfortunatly i have university tomorrow.... depending on my level of excitement i may very well stay up.... BBC starts coverage at 11.45, ill probably start watching from then...

[seireikhaan]

I voted early about a week ago at our Student Union. Tuesday's are busy class-wise for me. Got a 3 hour econ class tonight from 5:30 to 8:30 or so, so I probably won't be watching any news until the 9:00 Stewart/Colbert mega-bash.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

-- quotation on black panther intimidation thingee --

That is simply outrageous. What on earth is he thinking!?

Some days I am prouder of my country than others. Today I am quite proud. My candidate of choice (well, the one I was left with) is likely to go down in defeat. This happens to a big chunk of us yanks every 4 years. So how do we react?

The major "problems" receiving national media attention are one idiot at a Philadelphia polling place, long lines because there are so many people desirous of voting, and wet ballots not running through the optical scanners in VA or NC.

Think about that folks, and compare those "problems" to many of the elections you read about. Could it run this smoothly in Haiti? How many elections can you think of wherein a REAL decision was being made in a relatively close race where there were fewer problems?

On January 20th, many of us will compound this by watching a rather imperial president calmly watch himself shrived of authority and look on as his successor takes that power from him. He will congratulate his successor, and fade into history (for good or for ill). And then, in the weeks following, most of us who were disappointed in the results of this contest will treat tonight's winner with honor and respect and genuinely hope that his efforts yield success for us all.

There are times I am exceedingly proud of my country.

[JAG]

Looks like Obama's implementing his "civilian defense force" early. Looks like our American elections will be resembling African ones. Change....

Oh my Dave, I hope your not being serious.

[CountArach]

Counting has started in Kentucky. McCain is up about 60% to 38%, but very early days there (Obama can't win it realistically anyway).

[LittleGrizzly]

McCain is up about 60% to 38%

On what bush had or on what the polls thought he would have ?

Is there any reasons Kentucky would be different from other states or could this be showing a late swing towards mccain ?

Edit: your my expert for the next 20 minutes until BBC coverage starts..

[CountArach]

On what bush had or on what the polls thought he would have ?

I mean he is leading 60-38.

Is there any reasons Kentucky would be different from other states or could this be showing a late swing towards mccain ?

Nah, way too early to tell.

[Lemur]

Counting has started in Kentucky.

[Lemur sticks fingers in ears and yells "La la la la la I can't hear you"]

[Lemur will continue in this manner until much later in the evening]

[CountArach]

[Lemur sticks fingers in ears and yells "La la la la la I can't hear you"]

[Lemur will continue in this manner until much later in the evening]

Haha, fine I won't talk about the preliminary results in Indiana.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I voted after work this afternoon about 5 pm. I was #306 in a small rural district and only had 2 people in front of me. I didn't realize one could take their under voting age children into the booth with you to show them 'democracy in action' or I would have stopped at home and picked up junior first. We're still using old lever machines circa 1953:

[Devastatin Dave]

Do you have any evidence that Obama or the Obama campaign is tied to these incidents?

Are you kidding?

[CountArach]

Are you kidding?

No?

[JAG]

Edit: your my expert for the next 20 minutes until BBC coverage starts..

go to www.msnbc.com and watch their coverage - much better than the BBC to be honest - as you dont have to hear about the 'American system' and the stupid talk for ignorant Brits - if you know about the US system and even just a lil bit about the political situation - much better analysis.

[LittleGrizzly]

I mean he is leading 60-38.

how does this compare to previous elections and polls ?

same questions on indiana

come on expert! talk!

Are you kidding?

Nope dave im sure he's not, explain why the candidate who appears to be in the lead would do something as idiotic as sending out people to intimidate voters, so show us your secret source.... or do you just 'know' that obama did this... ?

go to www.msnbc.com and watch their coverage - much better than the BBC to be honest - as you dont have to hear about the 'American system' and the stupid talk for ignorant Brits - if you know about the US system and even just a lil bit about the political situation - much better analysis.

ohh thanks, yes im probably better informed than average brit on american politics, ill probably watch them both (turning my head depending on how intresting they are)

BBC coverage is decent enough so far though...

[Lemur]

LittleGrizzly, it is way too early to say anything meaningful about the election results. Everybody needs to take a chill pill.

Except DevDave. Dave, the most logical thing to do right now is to plunge into a full-fledged racial panic. I heard a rumor on a website that referred to a coot who read something in his tea leaves, and this is what I heard: Black men re coming to bully you at your job and sexually violate your women. They are approaching your house as you read this. If Obama wins they will run riot and take all the good jobs away from people with advanced degrees.

I hear a lot of machetes were shipped to your neighborhood ...

[Devastatin Dave]

No?

Ok, maybe I made a mistatement. I should have said these guys are working on their resume in order to join Obama's civilian defense force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s
And you guys thought Bush was the Nazi!!! He's gonna make the Congo look like Club Med in a couple of years. But please, continue enjoying this historic occassion. I guess I'm just happy he's going to win tonight, less rioting and looting and all.

[JAG]

I mean he is leading 60-38.

how does this compare to previous elections and polls ?

same questions on indiana

come on expert! talk!

Griz that was after 20,000 votes TOTAL out of the whole State of... a fair few millions.

At the moment it is 50/50... but far too early and info not from the important counties yet.

[CountArach]

I mean he is leading 60-38.

how does this compare to previous elections and polls ?

same questions on indiana

come on expert! talk!

Bush won Kentucky with 60% of the vote in 2004 and 56% in 2000. Clinton won Kentucky with mid-40% of hte vote in both of his elections. However, Kentucky is a state where Obama is likely to have a lot of racial problems and as such it is unlikely he could ever have won it.

Indiana is currently just about a 50-50 tie. The Republicans won it in all 4 of the last elections quite comfortably. If Obama wins Indiana he will be slightly out-performing the polls, which had the race at about McCain by 2 points.

[Caius]

I'm certain that this t-shirt will be worn for more than one.

[CountArach]

Kentucky called for McCain and Vermont for Obama.