ThunderDragon Blog

Of course, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States

There was another vote in America on November 4th, with a less salubrious result, as gay marriages are banned in Arizona, Florida and California.

I’m shocked that so many Americans can vote for change in a Presidential election and for the prevention of change in another election at the same time.

It seems that America is only prepared to vote in favour of theoretical rather than specific change.

Politicians seem to have come over all self-righteous and moralistic of late. Rather than spending their time doing something useful and saving us from th excesses of government, they appear to be at home watching TV.

They spouted off about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross saying some less-than-polite things, telling us things which we can think of for ourselves, if so inclined. It’s just so that they can get their face on TV.

Now a Labour MP is calling for Jeremy Clarkson’s job after he made a joke on Top Gear about lorry drivers:

Change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That’s a lot of effort in a day.

Hardly a “dismissible offence”, but the kind of humour you expect if you watch Top Gear and have any experience of Jeremy Clarkson.

Since when have politicians become the guardians of our morality?!

Boris Johnson’s plan is unworkable. Why? It’s very simple. The blueprint says:

Working with the police, the Probation Service, the Parole Board and London Councils, we want to use our powers to compel attendance at these organisations by those who need it…

Scout troops and Army Cadet Squads are the kind of gangs we like.

And quite rightly the reply from the Scout Association is:

The bottom line for us is that we want to work with young people, whatever their background. But forcing them to join just isn’t what we are about.

Precisely. As Scout leaders, we do not want any young person in our Troop who does not want to be there. That ruins it for those who do want to be there.

It is the young people who have problems who need and benefit from Scouts most, but force is not the way we work. We have had some very troubled and troublesome Scouts who, because they chose to be there, have developed so well that they are a credit to the Troop. They’re not perfect - they’re teenagers, and we don’t expect or necessarily want them to be.

If any form of coercion is involved, the Scout Association will not be. Scout leaders are entirely volunteers, and we do not want to deal with that sort of thing - especially when there are plenty of young people who want to be in scouting but can’t due to a lack of leaders. They are our priority, not the ones who don’t want to be Scouts.

It is nice that Boris has deemed Scouts “the kind of gangs [he] likes”, but we’re not the solution to all of London’s ills. We can only help those who want help. Scouting is accessible to anyone and everyone, but not through compulsion.

Hazel Blears aka the chipmunk, is trying to blame bloggers for causing the culture of cynicism in British politics:

Perhaps because of the nature of the technology, there is a tendency for political blogs to have a ‘Samizdat’ style. The most popular blogs are rightwing, ranging from the considered Tory views of Iain Dale, to the vicious nihilism of Guido Fawkes. Perhaps this is simply anti-establishment. Blogs have only existed under a Labour government. Perhaps if there was a Tory government, all the leading blogs would be left-of-centre?

It’s quite possible that, yes, had the Conservatives been in power rather than Labour, the centre-left would have the leading/highest traffic-level blogs. But they do certainly have a better blogging community thing going.

But mostly, political blogs are written by people with disdain for the political system and politicians, who see their function as unearthing scandals, conspiracies and perceived hypocrisy.

Yes, and no. Bloggers tend to have little respect for politicians as a whole, who are our representatives and as such we expect them to be sleaze-free. Only those politicians who have scandals to unearth, who make conspiracies, and are hypocrites have anything to worry about from bloggers.

The political system, however, is respected - except where it makes no sense or we can improve. However, bloggers tend to be democrats, not as in Lib Dems but in actual democrats. We respect the principle of democracy and its practice.

Until political blogging ‘adds value’ to our political culture, by allowing new voices, ideas and legitimate protest and challenge, and until the mainstream media reports politics in a calmer, more responsible manner, it will continue to fuel a culture of cynicism and despair.

Political blogging does allow new voices, ideas and legitimate protest and challenge into the political system. That is what it is best at. Blogging allows and encourages everyone to participate in the political process - anyone can start a blog for free using any number of platforms!

Blogging encourages particopation in the political process. Without blogging, I wouldn’t be anywhere near as politically active or engaged. I had in fact become bored with politics until I started blogging.

Hazel Blears is entirely wrong that political blogging doesn’t “add value”. It does, just not necessarily in the way she thinks it should.

It isn’t bloggers who are fueling !a culture of cynicism and despair”, but politicians - primaily career politicians, who Blears does indeed attack [unfortunately ignoring that she is one of them]. It is them who cause the lack of political engagement in Britain and prevent people from getting involved. If politicians weren’t mired in sleaze every time we turn around, maybe we wouldn’t have a culture of cynicism. And if we didn’t see the government constantly trying to take away our freedoms, maybe we wouldn’t live in despair.

The Lords are our saving grace, yet again. This undemocratic but venerable institution is doing its level best to save us from the authoritarian tendencies of Big Brother this Labour government.

The government has been defeated in the House of Lords over the issue of keeping people’s DNA and fingerprints on the police national database.

Peers backed a Tory amendment calling for specific guidelines to help people seeking to have their details removed from the database by 161 votes to 150.

But ministers are unlikely to redraft the legislation, arguing that existing public safeguards will be sufficient. (BBC)

It seems that the House of Lords represents more of the electorate than the elected House of Commons, as they fight for us to keep our civil liberties.

Yet even as they do this, they just keep on driving deeper and deeper inroads into our rights and freedoms. Such as ID cards being brought in by the back door, little by little, so that by the time people notice, it’s already too late, as from later this month “ID cards [will be] compulsory for foreign nationals who come to Britain.” And this will spread to the some Britons from autumn next year. And then slowly and pervasively out across us all. Until we all exist only as a magnetic strip, all of our personal information just a swipe away.

But of course they’re not content with just that. They want to press ahead with their plan to know everything we communicate as well. So that nothing we say or write can ever be private again. After all, they’re The Government! We’re just their pawns, not real people!

I’m glad that we have sent the MP edition of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four to parliament. Maybe they’ll read it and realise where they’re going wrong…

Fat chance. They’ll probably read it and realise that the telescreen would be a far more effective tool for them, knowing our luck and these politicians…

This morning, all 646 MPs in the House of Commons will be receiving their copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, with a similar message as in the copy I sent to my allocated MP:

Click to enlarge.

Final results:

• Electoral college: 349 seats to 162 seats (270 needed to win)
• Popular vote: 52% to 46.7% (6 million vote plurality for Obama)

This is a landslide victory for Obama. America has decided that it wants change, and voted in a Democrat as President, a Democrat-controlled Congress and a Democrat-controlled Senate.

Now it comes entierly down to President Obama to show that the trust America - and the rest of the world - has put in him is justified.

The hard work starts here [well, in two months time].

If you want exclusive US election information, go elsewhere. If you want my random thoughts, questions and responses, read on.

(Just so you know, I’m ProBama.)

23.17 - I don’t get the US system. Why have two months between election and office?

23.21 - If either candidate wins only on electoral college votes, will they take office? After all, if they’ve lost the popular vote, their legitimacy is in doubt from the start…

23.27 - Is Obama Labour or Conservative? I mention it because one of the search links that brought someone here asked that, leading them to this post. I think he’s more a Conservative than Labour - but then I would.

23.29 - On the Beeb, Dimbleby explains the difference in the US political party colours, saying they’re “confusing”… not really (see comment above).

00.00 - Polls closed! Now we’re just waiting for results…

23.32 - Thinking about it, comparing the Democrats and Republicans to UK parties is silly. Obama is closer to the Conservatives than Labour - and Palin is closer to the BNP than any other UK party.

23.43 - I don’t think that the “Bradley Effect” isn’t going to be strong. America must surely be over race by now. At least enough not to feel the need to lie about it.

23.47 - BTW, Iain Dale’s live election webchat is very good. Come join in! Liberal Conspiracy also have one, but I can’t pay attention to two at the same time - not along with the TV and liveblogging too!

23.55 - Five minutes until the polls close. Nearly!

00.00 - First polls closed! Now we just have to wait for the results…

00.04 - First electoral college vote results: 8 to 3 for McCain (270 to win)

00.09 - BBC coverage is pretty damn crap. I’m only watching it because I don’t have Sky. Or any more than four channels.

00.16 - Now watching Sky News online - thanks to Mike Rouse for the link!

00.21 - Waiting for results. Glad I have beer - though probably not enough.

00.31 - West Virginia for McCain : 13 to 3 for McCain.

00.43 - Obama ahead on popular vote - 51-48

00.51 - Why are the US so slow at counting votes? Don’t they use electonic voting for a reason? It’s rubbish.

00.54 - 4.1 million votes 54-46 for Obama

00.55 - Electoral collage votes : 21-3 for McCain (South Carolina - North Carolina too close to call)

01.00 - Fifteen states polls closed.

01.02 - 52 - 16 Obama (BBC)

01.06 - Networks jumping the gun with calling states? Sky says yes.

01.10 - Every network seems to have a differentrunning total at the moment…

01.18 - 39-32 Obama (Sky); 103-34 Obama (BBC)

01.28 - 75-32 Obama (Sky)

01.34 - Beginning to get bored now. Come on results!

01.36 - 103-39 Obama (Sky); 103-49 Obama (BBC)

01.45 - Obama expected to win Florida and the White House (Sky)

01.52 - From my American Correspondent in Virginia:

My grandpa, a World War II vet, cast his first vote in 24 years today. He had a stroke several months ago, and it’s hard to get him out and about; however, he was very insistent about this trip. We left bright and early, at 7 a.m., for the five-minute trip to the polls. We arrived, and the line was already out the door. I found an election official, who took his ID from the window of the car.

He came left and came back a few minutes later, another election official in tow. I filled out a proxy form, giving me permission to fill out his ballot, and he signed it. I got the form and got in the back of the car, and my grandpa gestured for the names he wanted. I sealed the ballot in the provided envelope, and handed it to one of the officials.

My rural, white, veteran, 86-year old grandfather cast his first vote in 24 years, and his first vote ever for a black man.

01.57 - *waves at anyone visiting from Twitter*

02.00 - Another load of states polls closed.

02.03 - Fox News called Ohio for Obama - then retracted. Obviously too close to call at the moment.

02.08 - It’s got to be an Obama victory. It’s just a matter of time before McCain concedes. Both Ohio and Florida are suspected/expected to turn blue.

02.27 - Obama wins Ohio. Obama is going to be President!

02.32 - 195-90 Obama. Only 75 more electoral college votes needed for Obama to officially win.

02.40 - Only a miracle could save McCain now.

02.42 - Could someone please explain why there is a two month gap between the election and the new president taking power? I just can’t understand it.

02.50 - Apparently this delay is due to the inauguration timetable in the US Constitution, which was set due to give COngress members time to get to to Washington, but has stayed at January 20th since 1941 (thanks to people at Iain Dales webchat).

02.55 - Minimal differences in popular vote counts at the moment - somewhere around 300,000, despite the big electoral vote differences. But the very proBama west coast polls have yet to close. And in the end, it comes down to the electoral sytem - and that is based on electroal college votes, not the popularist vote. Otherwise Al Gore would have been President in 2000.

03.00 - Obama is now being talked of as a dead cert to win, considering the electoral college votes of states which are traditionally Democrat (ie California).

And as I have to work tomorrow, I’m off to bed. To wake up to a President Obama.

Night all!

Michael Portillo believes that now is the time to call a general election, because

the damage that the Conservatives have sustained over recent weeks goes well beyond the sharp reduction in their opinion poll lead. Gordon Brown’s rehabilitation as a supposedly competent man of action has blown apart the Tories’ election strategy and no plan B exists.

But, no, it’s not.

If Gordon Brown called an election now - in the midst of a recession, an just as his poll ratings had begun to rise due to fact that he had “done” something - even if it had yet to cause any form of benefit at all - and the Conservatives lack any real narrative to suggest instead, he would be seen as oportunistic.

Brown chickened out of an election this time last year and since he has until May 2010 when he can leave it until, to select now of all times would be a massive miscalculation.

The public do not respect opportunistic poltiicans, and rather tend to move against them. If Brown was to use the slight bounce he has had recently in the polls [which still gives Cameron a small majority ] as an opportunity to call an election, the electorate will call it as it is - opportunistic, and vote aginst him to punish him.

A snap election now would not help Brown hold on to power, but just turn the electorate even more aginst politicians altogether, seeing them as even more sleazy and grasping as ever. They won’t appreciate being asked to make a deicison for next four years in the middle of a financial crisis.

Thus, a snap election aint gonna happen.

Today is the American election day. Either Barack Obama or John McCain will be the new American President, yet they won’t take office for another two months.

Why do they do this? We do it immediately. Out with the old, in with the new. Why do they take so long? What possible need is there for a two-month transfer period?

I agree with Gordo Brown that whoever is elected US President tomorrow needs to step up immediately. Two months with a dead duck President in the middle of a financial crisis is not a good thing.