Why I Love Election Day

[Swatopluk]

The Tuesday voting made sense when it was introduced. Sunday voting was out for religious reasons and polling places were sparse. It was expected that the average rural voter (only landowners could vote, remember) would need a day's travel to reach one. So, Sunday going to church, Monday travelling to the polling place, voting on Tuesday morning and being back home late on Tuesday or early Wednesday. Factory workers with a tight work schedule were not affected because they could not vote anyway.
That it has not been changed can be clearly attributed to the fact that even trvial changes to the constitution are extremly difficult and in this case would not match the the intentions of too large a political faction that would love to go back to the non-universal suffrage.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Well, the early news is that Obama's leading, but it's very early yet.

Update: Romney's ahead with two states (KY and IN) to Obama's one (NH).

Yeah... the East Coast is typically more blue than red.

Its the ignorant mid-west that is deeply into the Kool-Aid... red Kool-Aid, naturally.

[Opsa]

Lookin' bad right now at almost 9pm : Obama's got 70 electoral votes to Romney's 82 and that's with the east coast having voted. Yeesh. I didn't think it would be this bad. I think I'll go to bed and read.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Lookin' bad right now at almost 9pm : Obama's got 70 electoral votes to Romney's 82 and that's with the east coast having voted. Yeesh. I didn't think it would be this bad. I think I'll go to bed and read.

Aaah, carp.

California, anyone? That will surely go to Obama, and as I recall, has a buncha electorials.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

No worries, for a moment it looked like Virginia was going to Zomney but it turn out to be a false alarm. Everybody is calling Ohio and FL 'too close to call', but FL looks safe at the moment and OH will likely will be in the blue box too. In fact everybody and their cats are calling it for Obama.

Sleep well. 

[pieces o nine]

The Monastery abruptly disappeared earlier, but I'm checking before calling it a day and we're back! I took a peek a Opsa's page and see Obama: 303 vs Romney: 203.

            



Mr. President, I humbly urge you to take the opportunity of the next four critical years to stop being Mr. Bend-Over-Backwards-Being-Nice-to-Rethugs Guy. Drink some milk to toughen your spine and do what the peeps clearly want you to do. Please.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Aaaand there was much rejoicing.  (and we didn't even have to eat the mistrals of Sir Robin)

[Sibling DavidH]

Congratulations, Murkns, you got the better one.  Not great, say I, but preferable.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Congratulations, Murkns, you got the better one.  Not great, say I, but preferable.

Oh, without a doubt-- the US could not have survived as it is, with another ReThug war.

Has anyone else noticed that every Republican Pres'dint since Reagan has enmired the US in some sort of foreign war?

One that the follow-on Democrats had to deal with the aftermath for?

... meh.  We dodged a serious bullet on Tuesday.

[Swatopluk]

Unfortunately, this will probably mean the same gridlock like in the past years.
But at least Warren is in and Akin and Mourdock are not.
Let's just hope that Obama's preemptive cave-ins will again be refuted by the GOP congress because they will not take yes for an answer.
Over the cliff, gentlemen! Maybe this time the Dems show that they can play that game to their advantage too.
Pessimist and cynic that I am I expect the senate to get lost in 2 years and the presidency in 4. Hopefully the reforms have taken strong enough roots by then to survive on their own.
Now let's get ready for the fight for non-insane SCOTUS replacements.

[Sibling DavidH]

Has anyone else noticed that every Republican Pres'dint since Reagan has enmired the US in some sort of foreign war?

Ironically, Obama may soon have no choice but to do the same.

[Darlica]

Congratulations USA!

The rest of the world let out a sigh of relief this morning (especially the womenfolk).

I read some of the twitters Donald Trump made (screen-shots in Swedish papers) after Obama was declared the winner.
The poor man has it all wrong (but no news there I guess); the world laughs with America now when Obama has won, and would have cried with her if Romney was declared the winner...

USA is, I suppose, often pictured as the most powerful land in the world (especially in it's own media..) but the impact on the rest of the world isn't as mush related to it's (military) power as to it's culture and politics, and by politics I don't mean the American foreign politicises, I talk about domestic politics. As an example, if it is all-right to question women's rights to abortion in USA about 5 years later we will have the same movements here... Our conservative parties copy a lot from their counterparts in the States. The sad thing is that USA politicians often is allowed to lead the way even when they are back-pedalling. Hence my relief.

Also. Yay for the first openly gay senator being selected!

Personally I still have problems to wrap my head around the election and polling system of USA. To me democracy is "one person one vote" and on paper so it easily can be recounted if needed not to mention that one can just take a new ballot and make a new cross and then put it in the envelope if one put the pen down on the wrong candidate at the first slip.  

[Sibling DavidH]

"Vote early, vote often!" as they say in Northern Ireland.

[Opsa]

Wow Darlica, I had no idea that our political floppings had much effect on other countries. I generally think of US as having our heads up our arse, but I do still love my country and was greatly relieved to hear that Obama has been reelected. When I went to bed last night I was not too sure, and it was depressing.

Now we'll have all the sore loser squawking to contend with, but that's natural. The Dems would have squawked if they had lost by such a narrow margin. They'll sort it out.

We also have this financial cliff looming in front of us. I can only hope that the sore losers will not block what's best for the country in spite, but they have done so before, so it would be no big surprise, just a horrible disappointment and scary slide downhill for the country. I am hoping that the Obamastration will feel empowered enough to fight harder for what  is best.

But right now I will enjoy the quietude that accompanies the sudden cessation of pestering phone calls and bitter, doomsday attack ads. For right now we'll just tuck in and weather out the nor-easter storm as the political campaign storm peters out.

Cocoa, anyone?

[Griffin NoName]

Watched the whole thing unfold. Relieved sanity prevailed. Always bemused by the US's "self-importance" in the speeches - cannot imagine our polliticians ever making speeches like this.