President-Elect Barack Obama’s “landslide” win with more than double the number of Electoral College votes than John McCain, is totally out of proportion to the number of votes each candidate received. With the destiny of Missouri’s 11 electoral college votes still to be decided, Senator Barack Obama has 65 million votes to Senator John McCain’s 57 million votes, yet Obama has 364 electoral college votes to McCain’s 162, a very disproportionate number, but that is how the system works in America, with whoever gets 270 electoral college votes the winner.
In 2000, the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Vice-President Al Gore actually got 48.38% of the votes, compared to George Bush’s 47.87% share of the vote. However, President George Bush crawled over the finish line with 271 electoral college votes to Al Gore’s 266 by controversially “winning” Florida’s 25 electoral college votes by only 537 actual votes, with the Supreme Court denying the Democrats a recount.
The American system is not unlike our first past the post system, where it is not unusual for a UK goverment to be elected with a minority of all votes cast, with 324 MP’s needed for a Commons majority of the 646 MP’s. Having said that both system’s seem to work, as proportional representation is likely not to give a majority mandate to govern. Nevertheless, for a Conservative country, the U.S.A. have swung dramatically in historical terms to the left, with the Democrats also winning majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The great thing about Obama, was he was first past the post with the most, so has a genuine mandate to implement his policies, lets hope he does and the “change” he and his administration bring about is for the better and not just for change’s sake.
CATAGORY|American Politics, UK Politics
By achieving the majority of the popular vote in the American Presidential Election, and a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have a mandate to make a difference after 4 years of a lame duck President, who got in for his 2nd term via a controversial result in Florida, that many still question to this day. I can only hope that Barack Obama turns out to be a man of action as well of words, otherwise the massive expectancy could eventually turn against him.
The great thing is that the American People have voted in an African American for the first time in their history, which is terrifically refreshing and exciting. His energetic 21 month campaign certainly merits his big win, so lets hope he can unite what is clearly a divided America, with well over 50 million of the American Electorate voting for John McCain. Will they accept the result? If they don’t embrace change, Barack Obama’s base could almost guarantee him a 2nd term now, given the sweeping endorsement that winning over twice as many Electoral College votes over Senator John has given him. Congratulations President Obama!
CATAGORY|American Politics
I don’t know if you have been following the American Presidential Election, but according to the polls, Senator Barack Obama’s window of opportunity is starting to close, with Senator John McCain closing the gap with only 24 hours left to go before the American People choose an old Republican or a young Democrat. Had the election been 6 months ago, I suspect McCain would have won, but the economic crisis killed his campaign, after all he is in the Republican Party. However, as the economic situation settles it seems that the “window” of opportunity Barack Obama has is much smaller than it was two weeks ago.
The election tomorrow can not then come soon enough for Obama and the Democratic Party, who still could lose it when Americans get in the voting booth and have the choice between a black man and a white man. I sincerely hope that this is not the case and that the American people vote for the best man for the job. Many of the Republicans interviewed on TV seem convinced Barack Obama is a Muslim and a socialist, expressing their views with such hatred and aggression I do fear for both the future of the U.S.A. and Barack Obama who has cleverly maximized the window of opportunity the Global financial circumstances has presented him. I therefore await the verdict of the American People tomorrow with interest.
CATAGORY|American Politics
