U.S Presidential Election - Obama Wins!

[Larry]

well there is now less then a month untill the presidential elections - so who do you think will win and who do you think will be the best choice for America.

[Rob McCow]

Obama!

Although McCain will probably clinch it at the last minute. All he'd have to do is appear on national TV and say to the country 'Are you really going to vote for a Democrat?' That'd sort it.

[Antony Cox]

If Barak loses, he's bound to say "Oh, bummer!"

[Alex]

It'd be a true tragedy if Obama doesn't win, but it's an incredibly complex situation and whilst it should be clear cut - especially considering McCain and Palin's often horrendous and backwards views - the simple fact that he is a black individual means that it could go either way.

I'm all but certain that if Barack was exactly the same person, but white, he'd win easily, but we are alas talking about a country which is sadly quite racist in places - the deep south especially.

I think it will all come down to how much the republicans are able to smear Obama within the next month or so, but all I can say is that I really hope that for once the right man wins, and that the dark era of the republican administration comes to an end.

[Antony Cox]

In a way it'd be ironic that a country which has produced some of the greatest black actors, musicians and numerous others in notable walks of life, most of whom are hugely loved and admired around the world, may not be able to embrace Obama in the same fashion when it comes to choosing their leader.

Anyway, I've voted for Obama - I just can't take seriously anyone who's named after an oven chip!

[WhiteCrow]

I think McCain has more experience of government, and at the end of the day, that'll sway people to vote for him over a less experience Obama. With the world in crisis at the moment, I think people will vote for age and experience.

I have issues with Obama - the name Barack Obama makes him sound too much like a member of the A-Team for my liking!

[WhiteCrow]

[Larry]

I.

I have issues with Obama - the name Barack Obama makes him sound too much like a member of the A-Team for my liking!

perhaps he should put an apostrophe after the O and say he's Irish, - but seriously like Alex, says I think this will sadly come down to colour of skin rather then who is the best man for the job.

When you look at Mcain, he looks boring with little personality and IMO, is living on his war record in Vietnam (the all American hero) where as Obama reminds me very much of when Tony Blair, first come to power he looks good in front of the camera and ozzes charm and carisma .

[Lissa]

There is no way the Republican party would've chosen McCain if they thought he had a chance of winning. They wanted to lose this election because a few years out of the White House generally makes them popular again. The current economic collapse is merely an added bonus - something they can blame the Democrats for in four years time and win a landslide for the next Bush off the production line.

If McCain does manage to eke out a win then it will prove once and for all that America is a deeply racist country that doesn't deserve its place in the world.

On the other hand, if Obama wins then TV producers will finally have to stop thinking they are amazingly clever for regularly coming up with the radical idea of making the President a - shock - black man.

[Dirk Gently]

On the other hand, if Obama wins then TV producers will finally have to stop thinking they are amazingly clever for regularly coming up with the radical idea of making the President a - shock - black man.

They'll have to change to a Woman then.

[Jamie McCrimmon]

They'll have to change to a Woman then.

And then they'd only be a few decades behind Britain.

[Dirk Gently]

No change there then. @Jeff.

[Wayne]

Americans? Bah humbug! Don't give 'em independence whatever you do. Bunch of Europeans! They'll never get anywhere without British guidance! Long Live New England!

Great Grandad J.

(The real poster known as Wayne so is up with times & knowledgable about current affairs that he's never heard of either of 'em, but might vote McCain 'coz their Microwave Fries are dead nice with Tesco Value fish fingers, & Bachelors Chip Shop style Mushy Peas. And that's very important! You lot need a sense of world perspective!)

[Dino]

If you look at the odds offered by Ladbrokes, Obama is about 2/3 whilst McCain is about 15/1 or even higher...so my money's going on him. May as well make a buck or two off human misery, then put it as a down payment on a nuclear shelter...

[Jeff]

I'm all but certain that if Barack was exactly the same person, but white, he'd win easily, but we are alas talking about a country which is sadly quite racist in places - the deep south especially.

Actually, to date most of the criticism has been that the novelty of being the first Black President is what has carried him this far... I believe the notion was started in the Democratic Primary by a Clinton supporter, that if he was a white guy there would have been nothing special about him and that Blacks wouldn't have thrown their support behind him as much and he wouldn't have made it this far.

At any rate he is leading the polls by a fair margin and unless something major happens in McCain's favor he has a good chance of winning.

I recall actually posting on the old PS that I hoped he would be President 'one day' soon after I helped elect him as a US Senator from Illinois. There had been a lot of hype about him being a future candidate then, but no one thought it might happen this soon. Then when he decided to run it was said that it would be good for him to get his name known for a future election, but that he wouldn't win the Democratic Nomination this time around, but he did.

It's really quite a remarkable rise and a could be a major historical event we are witnessing. Just over 4 years ago he was just a State Senator no one had ever heard of... Then he made this speech as a Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and it has sparked everything that has come since, like a loud noise starting an avalanche.

[WhiteCrow]

At any rate he is leading the polls by a fair margin and unless something major happens in McCain's favor he has a good chance of winning.

Are these the same polls which claimed Al Gore and John Kerry were ahead?

[Pip Madeley]

I'm with Stevie Wonder on this one.

[Dave Lewis]

I am fully convinced that Obama will win, and rightfully so; for America and the world.

I wish I was as certain that the Tories won't win the next General Election...

[Si Hunt]

I think McCain will win. A patronising, set-in-his-ways old git who keeps calling people "my friend", he's bound to be four years worth of trouble.

So I'm saying he will win on the basis that things are never as easy as getting a young, fresh-minded, radical new PM for the most powerful country in the world.

Si.

[SiHart]

Perhaps the Republicnas can just cheat and get into power again anyway. It never stopped Bush.

To be honest I hope Obama does get in. That's got to be better for the world, but the American public to over generalise often appear to be extremely conservative at the best of times, and with the economic downturn I think they'll want what is perceived to be a safe pair of hands.

Si xx

[Larry]

If McCain does manage to eke out a win then it will prove once and for all that America is a deeply racist country that doesn't deserve its place in the world.

.

well I said that when I heard that many of Clinton's supporters on her defeat were going to back Mcain, it was nothing to do with politics but because Obama was black.

my fear if Obama, dose win the deep south is still extreamly racist and the KKK, have not gone away and I really fear that if Obama, wins some white supremacist will try to assinate him.

[WhiteCrow]

my fear if Obama, dose win the deep south is still extreamly racist and the KKK, have not gone away and I really fear that if Obama, wins some white supremacist will try to assinate him.

Larry you make it sound like the 60s all over again.

George W is still alive and well, and you don't get more unpopular than him.

[Jeff]

well I said that when I heard that many of Clinton's supporters on her defeat were going to back Mcain, it was nothing to do with politics but because Obama was black.

Many of Clinton's supporters were women who normally would have voted Republican but wanted to see a woman in the White House. Make no mistake, McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate had little to do with her qualifications, but rather because he felt she could draw disappointed Clinton supporters.

my fear if Obama, dose win the deep south is still extreamly racist and the KKK, have not gone away and I really fear that if Obama, wins some white supremacist will try to assinate him.

There is racism all over America, but there are no such thing as 'rascist states'. The KKK is a marginalized secret society with no political power. Most racism seems to come from all white rural areas that have small population that are conservative, (i.e. they would have voted republican anyway.) There is fear that someone may try to assasinate him because of race, but there is always fear that someone may try to assasinate a President. Someone tried to assasinate Ronald Reagan in (many of) our own lifetimes. That's what the Secret Service is there for.

There is fear that some White Democrats may vote republican because they don't trust Obama. Some because of his skin, but other also because he went to a school in the middle east as a child, or because his middle name is Hussein, or because he has admitted using cocaine in the past. It doesn't mean America is racist if Obama doesn't win.

On the other hand, McCains age combined with his running mate's inexperience is no help to him.

[Jeff]

Perhaps the Republicnas can just cheat and get into power again anyway. It never stopped Bush.

That's a popularly held belief by bitter Democrats, but it was actually Gore's supporters who attempted to cheat to get him into office. There were many reports of Gore supporters spoiling ballots for Bush, hididng them, or fixing spoiled ballots so that the votes would go to Gore. In the end the final recounts (which were finished long after Bush was in office) showed explicitly that George Bush won the state of Florida and the 2000 election legitimately.

Interestingly, this was one of the few elections where the candidate who won the popular vote lost the electoral vote, but that is the rules of the system. It is the electoral vote that counts not the popular vote (this system was set up so that the votes of people in states that are less populous would be 'heard'.

To be honest I hope Obama does get in. That's got to be better for the world, but the American public to over generalise often appear to be extremely conservative at the best of times, and with the economic downturn I think they'll want what is perceived to be a safe pair of hands.

Si xx

Rebublicans are considered to be strong on foreign policy, and Democrats are seen as being strong on domestic policy. The war in Iraq and other foreign threats help McCains case, especially with is experience in government and as a veteran and Vietnam war hero, but the high gas prices and downturned economy should help Obama. The fact that people are growing weary of Iraq, I think, may also help Obama in the election, as he has blatantly stated that he wants to put an end to the war and start getting us out of Iraq. The post Gulf War recession in the early 90's was no enemy to Bill Clinton.

[SiHart]

That's interesting, thanks Jeff. the reporting we get about the ins and outs of American politics is rather limited over here in comparison to our domestic politics, so it's useful to have a better perspective. Certainly I didn't know about the Al Gore stuff and don't think I've ever heard that said over here before.

Si xx