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pathology_doc...but have all the votes in all the states been counted, and how can they possibly finalize the result until they are? The BBC thing I'm watching online still says PROJECTED TO WIN. Here in Australia, the seats in the House of Reps weren't called until it was mathematically impossible for the second-place candidate to win, and the Western Australian state election result, for example, took many days to be finalized until the balance-of-power party decided which plurality they were going to swing to.
I will never understand this winner-take-all-in-all-states thing - especially when some of the popular votes in those states are neck and neck. It doesn't seem to reflect the true picture. The more I see of the US voting system, the less I comprehend it. It's a warning for Australia if it ever goes the same way - DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM, and if you do, DO NOT MAKE IT WINNER-TAKES-ALL.
I wish Mr Obama luck, when and if his result is finalized. He's going to need it.
ETA 4pm local: Ignore all the above, as this post was written on the fly as things develop. He's got enough electoral college votes now that the outcome is pretty reliable.
From the BBC feed http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7700298.stm :
Many years from now, political science students will still be debating how a black guy from a broken home beat a war hero and ex-beauty queen to the US presidency. How did a freshman senator with such a flimsy resume out-hustle two of the most formidable machines in American politics: the Clintons and the conservative right?
What it may mean is that black guys from broken homes no longer have an excuse not to make something of themselves. There's nothing wrong with black pride - it's been well earned - but if it's a machismo-ridden "Fuck you, whitey" sort of pride, then Obama's victory will be wasted. Magnanimity in victory is called for, and that will be the true test of Barack Obama's character. I believe he is as capable of it as McCain is of grace in defeat.
ETA: McCain has conceded, very graciously, with admiration for his opponent and accepting responsibility for his own campaign mistakes: "I wish godspeed to the man who was my opponent, and who will be my President." Whatever you may say about him, he was a gentleman.
I am waiting to see what Mr Obama's acceptance speech is like. If I can get a feed of it... :( (ETA it was pretty good - if he lives up to it, he'll be a good president.)
I will never understand this winner-take-all-in-all-states thing - especially when some of the popular votes in those states are neck and neck. It doesn't seem to reflect the true picture. The more I see of the US voting system, the less I comprehend it. It's a warning for Australia if it ever goes the same way - DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM, and if you do, DO NOT MAKE IT WINNER-TAKES-ALL.
I wish Mr Obama luck, when and if his result is finalized. He's going to need it.
ETA 4pm local: Ignore all the above, as this post was written on the fly as things develop. He's got enough electoral college votes now that the outcome is pretty reliable.
From the BBC feed http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7700298.stm :
Many years from now, political science students will still be debating how a black guy from a broken home beat a war hero and ex-beauty queen to the US presidency. How did a freshman senator with such a flimsy resume out-hustle two of the most formidable machines in American politics: the Clintons and the conservative right?
What it may mean is that black guys from broken homes no longer have an excuse not to make something of themselves. There's nothing wrong with black pride - it's been well earned - but if it's a machismo-ridden "Fuck you, whitey" sort of pride, then Obama's victory will be wasted. Magnanimity in victory is called for, and that will be the true test of Barack Obama's character. I believe he is as capable of it as McCain is of grace in defeat.
ETA: McCain has conceded, very graciously, with admiration for his opponent and accepting responsibility for his own campaign mistakes: "I wish godspeed to the man who was my opponent, and who will be my President." Whatever you may say about him, he was a gentleman.
I am waiting to see what Mr Obama's acceptance speech is like. If I can get a feed of it... :( (ETA it was pretty good - if he lives up to it, he'll be a good president.)