1_man_army

You don't really have any idea of how your own democratic system works, do you? The popular vote means nothing. Even if it did, Obama won it by a good 5% (which sounds small, but is actually massive in a two-party election), so it's not like he needed more while the national polls were putting him 7%, 8%, and even some double figures ahead. This isn't particularly aimed at evil_mumm_ra but it's funny how republicans are talking about the popular vote now. They seem to be forgetting that when Bush had 500,000 less votes than Gore in 2000 it wasn't a problem for them.

He isn't nationalising the means of production, or the distribution of land. If anything the bail out was closer to socialism than anything Obama is advocating. Taxing the wealthy more to pay for improvements to those less fortunate is the cornerstone of most tax systems. All governments redistribute wealth in one way or another, Bush gave to the wealthy and hoped it would trickle down, Obama is building from the bottom. America will still be a capitalist nation.

It's now 207 Obama and 135 McCain according to BBC

I'll sum up my whole feeling towards that comment in just one word: diddums.

After him winning Ohio is there any point lol? I'm off in the next half hour, I have an hour of uni tomorrow afternoon so I'm not staying up until 5am.

BBC- Obama projected to win Ohio

Powell & Pressburger Boxset (11 Disks) I've been wanting this one for a while I love P&P's films, I couldn't resist now that it is only £18! (less than £1.70 per film, bargain) 1. The Tales of Hoffman (1951) 2. Black Narcisus (1946) 3. A Matter of Life & Death (1946) 4. The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) 5. A Canterbury Tale (1944) 6. I Know Where I am Going (1945) 7. 49th Parallel (1941) 8. The Battle of the River Plate (1956) 9. Ill Met By Moonlight (1957) 10. They're A Weird Mob (1966) 11. The Red Shoes (1948) I've still to update my latest films I've watched with my last purchases...

BBC now claim that Obama is up to 103 to McCain's 34, I'm still skeptical until the numbers are confirmed though.

I agree CNN is biased also, most of the big networks are biased in one way or another in USA. That being said, I don't want to start about Florida again, the systematic disenfranchisement of black voters (who tend to vote democrat) and the decision not to count over-votes (which would have given Gore a victory). 537 votes...when the direction of the western world comes down to such a small margin it makes the mind boggle.

Normally the VP doesn't have too much responsibility unless the President dies or resigns but Cheney has had a lot more responsibility during the Bush years.

Stopping people voting isn't really an issue republicans can take the moral high-ground on. Don't you remember Florida 2000? Plus it isn't like Fox News has an agenda itself is it?

I like Gerrard as a player but I've been saying that for a while, he's not above diving when it suits him. That is what makes me laugh at the whole English mantra of "those diving foreigners", Gerrard and Michael Owen are two of the worst for it, hypocrisy. That being said, we Scots aren't above diving either, it's just that we're no good at it and hypocritically, I would not complain one but if we cheated to get to the world cup. Also hypocritically, we all quite enjoy that Maradona scored the hand of god goal against England - he'll get as many cheers from the Tartan Army as he will from his own supporters when Argentina come to Hampden. In short, I am a hypocrite. ;)

More like 3-5 days. seeing how republicans will do anything to sneak in a few more votes. Or to disqualify legitimate votes that didn't go their way.

How is saying that it is a big deal racist? It would say a lot about how far America has come in relation to race if he wins, that is a great thing - progress. Now that is not to say people should vote for him only because he is black, it just means that a black man winning would be a great sign that America is overcoming it's troubled past in relation to race.

Cuba could have worked if it wasn't for the crippling sanctions that had been put on it.

That's what I put in the first post. And is it me or is Lenin overhyped? Otherwise not many people know much about Red Terror :| I know you put it in the OP but the post above mine (which I was referring to) didn't seem to make a distinction. In response to your point about Lenin, yes he is somewhat over-hyped, for some people he is close to being god like (ih the irony). Regardless of your political allegiances though, it was a remarkable to bring down such an old-time entrenched system like the Tsarist regime of the Romanov's. He did make a few failures, he was forced into the Brest-Litovsk Pact in order to end Russian involvement in WW1, he didn't deal with food shortages too well (he wasn't helped by having to fight the White Armies) and he was completely blindsided by Stalin's political maneuvering. The fact that he remains as the symbol of communism however, is more to do with the cult of personality that Stalin helped to create and exploit during his reign as he knew many of the people adored Lenin. [/hide] Lenin wasn't forced into the Brest-Litovsk pact, he sent Trotsky to do the negotiating, because he realised Trotsky would get the blame for the bad terms which were obvious. He also realised if the allies won the war, they'd get thier land back. Forced may be slightly misleading I'll concede, but the Bolsheviks had to end the war for Russia. Trotsky might have been sent to do the job but it was on behalf of the Bolsheviks and by extension on behalf of Lenin. As for getting their land back - there were no guarantees, Bolshevik rule had already antagonised the allied powers (to the extent that they'd support the removal of the Bolsheviks during the civil war), ideologically USA weren't in favour of communism and the Britain's historical & biological links with the Tsar would see them side with the Romanovs. Any of these reasons could have lead to them not getting the land back. They got lucky that the need to get vengeance against Germany after the war lead to them getting their land back in the Treaty of Versailles. Anyway, moving on from Lenin's legacy can we get back on-topic (although it's difficult to do that as the answer to the OP's question is simply no)

I don't know why but I'm getting nervous about tomorrow. Every poll suggests Obama should win it but there are so many unknowns in this election; will race really be a factor?, will complacency creep in? will there be another controversy like Florida in 2000? McCain making gains in the polls is slightly worrying as well. Plus I keep seeing the image of Truman holding up the newspaper with 'Dewey defeats Truman' on it. Hopefully on wednesday/thursday I'll be able to look at this post and laugh loudly but until the results are out I'll still be a bit wary. What source is this from? Shame :| ...is there such a thing as "sympathy vote"? People vote for someone because they feel sorry for them? I can't see a sympathy vote working here there are to many things at stake, this is really a crossroads election in my opinion. That being said, Reagan's approval rating rose up after he was shot by Hinckley.

That's what I put in the first post. And is it me or is Lenin overhyped? Otherwise not many people know much about Red Terror :| I know you put it in the OP but the post above mine (which I was referring to) didn't seem to make a distinction. In response to your point about Lenin, yes he is somewhat over-hyped, for some people he is close to being god like (ih the irony). Regardless of your political allegiances though, it was a remarkable to bring down such an old-time entrenched system like the Tsarist regime of the Romanov's. He did make a few failures, he was forced into the Brest-Litovsk Pact in order to end Russian involvement in WW1, he didn't deal with food shortages too well (he wasn't helped by having to fight the White Armies) and he was completely blindsided by Stalin's political maneuvering. The fact that he remains as the symbol of communism however, is more to do with the cult of personality that Stalin helped to create and exploit during his reign as he knew many of the people adored Lenin.

There is quite a difference between Stalinism and traditional communism.

This whole thing has deliberately been blown out of all proportion to me. It has been used by the blue-rinse brigade to highlight society's "moral decline" and more importantly it has been used by people who have a grudge against the BBC to bash the BBC. It was just too perfect, not only was it a chance to bash anyone at the BBC, it was a chance to hit their biggest earner in Jonathan Ross. If this had been Russell Brand and anybody else it would not have been a problem but because it's Ross it becomes an issue as he is on an £18M contract. If there is any doubt that this is being exploited by people who are anti-BBC then read a copy of the Rupert Murdoch owned The Sun or watch Sky News they are milking this for all it's worth.

Were you waiting for somebody dressing up as a different bearded man in robes by any chance?

...and he can't spell larger...*looks suspiciously to my sig quote*...hmmm... edit - I added the word quote, no spell mistakes.

They only show the wire on FX here right? It's a real pain, I'm surprised one of the terrestrial channels haven't picked it up.

The only camera I have is on my phone so I had to get a pic of it off of Amazon;

Normally I'd agree but she is running alongside the oldest ever candidate for a first term. John McCain is 72 years old, the U.S average life expectancy for males is just over 75 (75.15 to be exact). Those numbers alone suggest that there is a possibility that McCain could die during his first term especially considering that he will be in one of the most stressful jobs on the planet at an extremely trying time in recent history. That is why his choice of Palin is so important, she doesn't seem to grasp he issues that are important and I just don't think she is cut out for the job. If McCain had chosen a more qualified running mate this election would be a bit closer, instead he opted to create this Sarah Palin sideshow that looks like it is really hurting him right now.