It’s a Revelection!!!

Scotland, it’s friendly, cold, wet, and absolutely fascinated by our election. With the day of reckoning just under a week away, it appears that Scots and most everyone else, is absolutely fascinated with our little democratic race.

I arrived into Glasgow Central Station on Sept. 8 and took a cab to my new apartment. The driver had all sorts of questions. It started out pretty standard.

“Where are you from?” “What brings you to Glasgow?”

Eventually, however, the questions headed off in a different direction. I was taken aback when he asked me who I was voting for, a question which I personally regard to be my own personal business. Even more striking was his next question: “What do you make of that awful woman?” By “that awful woman” he could have meant a number of notorious females: Hillary, Britney, or even the newcomer, Sarah. Turns out it was the latter and he demanded to know how I felt about the Alaskan governor and her moose hunting ways.

As the race has progressed the climate has been fascinating. Before I left I was disappointed to be left outside the country during my first eligible presidential election. As a history major I have studied my fair share of political racing and looked forward to the slander, the posturing, the excitement of the coming election. Nearly everything of consequence has happened since I left the country. When I boarded my flight in August, Barack Obama was running by himself and no one had heard of Sarah Palin. Now that I have been here for a few months, it seems that it is all anyone wants to talk to us about.

As time goes on I am becoming more popular in regards to the race. My fellow Americans and I have been sitting over here watching our economy crumble, and the subsequent insanity that appears to be brewing. While many of you may have begun to feel the crunch already those of us who keep our money on the dollar in Britain have been doing cartwheels, as the Brits seem determined to race the US into the recession, dragging its currency behind it. When I arrived on August 24 I found my money halved with an exchange rate of nearly 2 to 1. Now that the economy is collapsing the Pound is experiencing a five-year low against the Dollar and beer is quickly getting cheaper. Who said that recession is a bad thing?

Popular culture itself is teeming with election fever. If you caught the Video Music Awards you met a cheeky Englishman who stated “Please, America, elect Barack Obama. On behalf of the world.” Also referring to our current president as a “retarded cowboy” who doesn’t deserve a pair of scissors, much less a nation to toy with. The indie night at the student union usually called “Revolution” has been renamed “Revelection” and is selling red and blue beverages to indicate preference of candidate as well as showing live election updates on the big screen behind the DJ. This in itself is a huge commitment because when the club closes at 3 a.m., it will barely be time for the polls to close in California leaving no conclusion to the whole shindig.

At the midpoint of the semester, just when papers and exams are starting to heat up, it is interesting to see everyone turning their eyes from their studies and to the campaigns. The university is holding a colloquium tomorrow about the election and its impact on the world. The BBC ran an ad in the national paper about the election and its impact on the UK. It seems that everyone is absolutely fascinated by the process and result, except those of course who take it for granted, us.

I have spoken to several American friends who haven’t sent in their ballots yet cutting it awfully close. What I have to say to you is to please vote. If you have a strong opinion about anything go out on Tuesday and fill in that Scantron, it’s not that hard and you spend all year practicing for it in exams anyway. Please vote, unless of course you are stupid. Then just stay home and don’t jinx it for the rest of us.