Waving hello on another election day.

Just popping in to let you all know I’m fine, but was on the road (in Victoria overnight) at the end of last week and am away again (Ottawa) this week which always cuts into my blogging time. Not that I stop writing, but sporadic wireless access and all-day meetings make me less inclined towards the online journal.

But it would be remiss of me to let this day pass without posting something, however brief, on the fact the polls have opened in the US election and by the end of today (hopefully) we will have a marginally less dangerous world to live in. I say marginally because even though Obama promises to take the troops out of Iraq, all his talk about Afghanistan makes me twitchy. But that aside, universal health care and college tuition assistance (both relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things) are also Obama promises and would, over time, significantly change the face of the United States as shown at recent McCain rallies (broadcast to the world on YouTube). Something needs to be done about that, really. Like an education system that works.

Because Obama is just another candidate in the same old tired capitalist system, I can’t hold out much hope for fundamental change of the variety promised. Though it has been fun to watch McCain sputter on about the “class warfare” launched by the Democrats, and the frothing hordes at the rallies going on about the evils of Marxism are as cute as any white redneck can be – making this a much more amusing and engaging election for me. Particularly when you realize the things feared and criticized (voter enumeration ala ACORN, universal health care, higher taxation levels for the rich, tuition subsidy, gun control etc) are pretty much symbols of Canadian civil society. Somehow it’s tickling to realize that the worst of the US electorate is terrified of living in Canada. Canada! For the love of Pete – it’s a den of socialist thieves out to steal Joe the Plumber’s money!

Now that’s something to fear people. Just stay away, and no one will get hurt. (Please, please stay away!)

Not surprisingly, international polling shows that Obama is the clearly favoured candidate in all of the industrial western democracies with majority approval in Canada, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, the UK, etc. by a fairly wide margin. And no doubt the whole world is watching today to see if the US continues its long march to the far right (economically, socially, politically) despite the clear failings of a deregulated economic system, or if a journey back to the middle is in order. Because as much as we are all “sovereign” nations, the US political/economical current is one that sweeps us all up and forces the same ideology down through the IMF and the World Bank. It seems a truism in Canada, if there is any chance of getting rid of Harper in the next term we must first see Obama elected down south, and see the policies of the far right thoroughly discredited in that arena.

And it’s not like those watching want Obama to do too much except perhaps rein in the attack dogs of capitalism a wee bit so we can be left to govern socially instead of according to simple (ie Republican) economics. Despite the fact that a Democratic victory seems assured, I won’t believe it until it’s true, and even then I won’t be so sure of what it means until a little while in. Which means going back to my regular state, mostly ignoring US politics and cringing a lot. What else can one do?