US Election

andy

Anyone want to make a prediction? Or are you too scared that saying it out loud will jinx it and leave us with mccain and crazy moose lady.

flembo

Like football, I'm too scared to say anything for fear I'll jink them. Fingers crossed.

poxy

<a href="http://www.resistcomfort.com/votetheissues/" target="target">Let the issues be the issue</a>

andy

i find this site very compelling/comforting: <http://www.fivethirtyeight.com>; it shows the chance of mccain winning to be less that 2%, based on analysis of all the other polls.

wisteria53

I had to absentee my US vote about a month ago, but whoever you vote for, the government always gets in....

rainbow_carnage

I didn't vote, but I plan to stay up all night to watch the results come in.

Expats shouldn't get to vote. So there.

Colette

Why on earth not? I always vote in the French presidential elections.

Glyn

I'm going to stick my neck out with a conservative (according to latest polling) prediction of 291 electoral votes for Obama, not including Ohio and Florida. Given the results in those states in the last two elections, i have my doubts about them... Big ones to watch out for early are Virginia (should go to Obama) and Indiana (if it turns blue, I think we're talking a landslide). Apologies for geekery. Go anti-moose lady people!

rainbow_carnage

Why not?

I haven't lived in the States in 8 years. I do not pay taxes there. I do not use their social services. Why on earth should I get a say as to who gets to be president?

tosscat

Can you vote here RC? You've got to be allowed to vote somewhere, surely?

poxy

<i>I haven't lived in the States in 8 years. I do not pay taxes there. I do not use their social services. Why on earth should I get a say as to who gets to be president?</i>

My wife hasn't lived in the U.S. for eight years and yet she has to pay U.S. taxes. Now that we're married she has to pay more tax than ever before. If she stopped paying U.S. tax our six month old son wouldn't be able to claim his U.S. citizenship.

Not planning on going back, RC?

rainbow_carnage

@tosscat - yes, i can vote here

@poxy - that is a whole other issue. one that i will probably have to address at some point in the future.

Colette

Surely if it was all about where you pay your taxes, then my mother, who has lived and worked here for 40 years, should be allowed to vote in a general election here. Except she isn't.

rainbow_carnage

If she pays taxes and uses the services, then yes, I think she should. It's that whole 'no taxation without representation' thing.

There was a new story a little while ago about an old American nun living in the Vatican. She has live there for 5 decades, but still has US citizenship. She likes Obama so much that she's decided to vote for the first time in 52 years, though she has no plans to go back.

Why should this woman, who is no more affected by US policy than your mother, Colette, get to help choose the US president? There are people who've lived in the States for decades (legally and illegally), who have no say at all.

I'm not against absentee voting in general. If you're traveling, or studying, or simply working temporarily overseas, then you should get to vote. But if your primary residence is elsewhere, then you shouldn't get to vote. You don't have to live with the consequences of your choice.

unaesthetic

i'm rooting for matthew santos

wisteria53

I can't vote here (I'm not a British citizen) but consider this to be my home. I would have liked to vote in the recent London mayoral elections and also in past/future general elections, but doing so by becoming British could jeopardise my American citizenship (and there is always the issue of allegiance to the monarch and her heirs). Usually I am under the threshold income (which is all earned in the UK) and do not need to pay US income taxes as well as my UK taxes, but last year due to an income "spike" the IRS said I owed over US $4000. I was able to negotiate less by resubmitting the tax returns, but I therefore feel fully entitled to cast my vote there. Americans are supposed to pay tax on their worldwide income. What will happen when/if they catch up with you, rainbow_carnage?

andy

wtf - they are now interviewing Ricky Gervais on the BBC election coverage. His views seem to be "Wow. I don't vote. Matthew Santos. Sarah Palin. Wow"

andy

Christopher Hitchens is a tool

andy

It seems I am now "liveblogging" the BBC coverage. Christopher Hitchins is a tool, though.

Lucy

aw, david dimbleby is sad - there is nothing to report in these last 2 minutes!

andy

Ooooh they're interviewing "bloggers". Apparently, Obama is less shit than John Kerry. Which is a surprise, given that John Kerry was a tool and Obama has a bajillion dollars.

Lucy

he had a million purple hearts though!!! not worth the metal they're printed on though.

andy

Jeremy Vine = Poor Peter Snow impression

unaesthetic

<a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/09/22/funny-pictures-now-tax-dductble/"><img class="mine_1837727" title="funny-pictures-kittens-are-now-tax-deductible" src="http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress.com/files/2008/09/funny-pictures-kittens-are-now-tax-deductible.jpg" alt="cat" /></a><br />more <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com">animals</a>

r_c and wisteria take note

andy

South Carolina called for Republicans. All these shitkicker states going republican.

Pete

I'm not looking forward to the collective whinge coming from the american Right tomorrow. I have a feeling O'Reilly and Dobson are going to have kittens.

andy

@unaesthetic - have you seen the lolcatbible <http://www.lolcatbible.com/>? I love it. *Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.*

Lucy

watching the BBC coverage, where they've just commented on the number of people who've had phone calls from democrats/republicans to go and vote. Can you imagine that? Being called by someone on behalf of the labour party or the tories - I think it would massively backfire! 1) what a waste of money! 2) lead to me going to vote for some looney party option (i.e. greens, monster, lib dems in islington north!) 3) certainly wouldn't tell anyone on the phone who I was going to vote for! 4) why are you calling me and what happened to my telephone preference service that stopped buggers like you calling! Really hate the phone by the way.

unaesthetic

i secretly worship basement cat

Lucy

heretic - ceiling cat will get you.

andy

Laura Trevelyan is quite "severe". Will google image search her to prove this.