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FF:NZ US Presidential Election

Discussion in 'Oceania Discussion Boards' started by SimplyThrilledHoney, Nov 2, 2004.

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  1. SimplyThrilledHoney

    SimplyThrilledHoney Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    So, who's it going to be? Bush or Kerry?

    I'm hoping Kerry will win, but really have a feel Bush will scrape in with a narrow margin.
     
  2. Kitt327

    Kitt327 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 23, 2000
    It's a tough call, because even if one gets more votes than the other, that's no guarantee they'll actually win, as witnessed in 2000. I don't understand how the electoral college system works.

    Here we vote for a party, and the leader is just a figurehead, but in the US, the president actually has a lot of individual power, like the veto thing.
     
  3. SithForceLord

    SithForceLord Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2001
    It's probably slack, but I don't really care.

    I think Bush might just nudge in also.
     
  4. SimplyThrilledHoney

    SimplyThrilledHoney Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    the electoral college system is an attempt to give more of a say to smaller states. I think each state has a minimum of two colleges, so even if they have a tiny population (like, say, Wyoming) they still have some say. but essentilly it means that elections come down to a half dozen 'battleground states', where all the campaigning goes.

    under FFP in New Zealand there were a few times when the government actually had less of the popular vote than the opposition, but still won because of the varying sizes of the electorates it won. but I think that in these instances the proportional differences were very small.
     
  5. jp-30

    jp-30 Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2000
    I'm hoping Kerry, and my liberal yankee friends are busy excitedly sending exit poll data back and forth that have Kerry winning quite nicely - however (as they note), this just means that Kerry voters are out voting earlier.

    Here's some interesting stuff behiond the colleges and the reason it's on a damn Tuesday.

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US presidential election is held every four years, always on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November, a date set in the middle of the 19th century for economic and
    religious reasons.

    Until fixed by an 1845 law, the presidential election was held on a day in early December chosen by each state. At the time, the United States was an agrarian society, and the best time for holding an election was
    when agricultural activity was at an ebb.

    Tuesday was chosen because it was in the middle of the week. Sunday was out for religious reasons, and Monday and Friday would make it harder for some voters to get to the polls.

    The Tuesday following the first Monday in November was chosen to keep the voting from interfering with the Catholic and Anglican feast of All Saints Day on November 1.
    ---------------------------

    From:
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4127863
    ------
    On Wednesday's program, Judith Best, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Cortland, defends the Electoral College. She's the author of The Case Against Direct Election of the
    President.

    "Primarily, the role of the election is to select a president who can govern this vast and heterogeneous nation," Best tells Inskeep in an interview. "A presidential election is not a census or even a public
    opinion poll. It's not designed to break down the population into separate isolated individuals and treat them as mere numbers. It's designed to bring together the largest possible support for the winner,"
    Best says. "To be able to govern, the winner must have broad cross-sectional... base of support. Broad distribution of support is far more important than depth of support."
    -------


    The electoral college also ensures that small states are visited during the election--this year everything is out of whack, but still--you have the VP flying to Hawaii for the few votes it has, or the candidates
    sending time in New Hampshire or New Mexico. w/o the EC it is possible that candidates could concentrate solely on the most populous states and ignore all the rest.


    I'm unconvinced about the Electoral College, but I do understand the points being made above.

     
  6. SimplyThrilledHoney

    SimplyThrilledHoney Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    Here's a good BBC article about the Electoral College system for anyone mildy interested. (ie. JP.)

    What I find insteresting that that people who would most benefit from Democrat ecomonic policies (ie. the working class) are the staunchest supporters of the Republican Party.
     
  7. YouAgain

    YouAgain Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 20, 2001
    It looks real close right now, I would like to see Kerry win just to see if he can do anything better with the country!
     
  8. solo77

    solo77 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 28, 2002
    Bush will win, don't want him too, but i reckon he will.

    Will make the next four years interesting, you know guessing what countries he'll invade next!!!!![face_flag] [face_flag] [face_cowboy] [face_cowboy]
     
  9. SithForceLord

    SithForceLord Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2001
    254 Bush
    243 Kerry

    or something very similar 11pm

    270 required to win or something, yes?
     
  10. SWNZ

    SWNZ Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 27, 2000
    Bush has it for another term. Kerry has just conceded.
     
  11. Kitt327

    Kitt327 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 23, 2000
    Should we prepare for a wave of refugees? lol

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3087905a10,00.html

    ^ 'Disillusioned Yanks eye NZ'
     
  12. The_Undertaker

    The_Undertaker Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Oct 21, 2004
    Inward thinking christian fanatics don't care about the environment.

    *Mother Nature crys*
     
  13. SimplyThrilledHoney

    SimplyThrilledHoney Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    I'm not sure exactly who you're lumping together as "inward thinking Christian fanatics", but I think you'd find that a great percentage of the charities and environmental groups in the world are staffed and run by Christians. For every pro-war American Christian there would be dozens worldwide who find Bush's politics abhorent, and are conserned with spreading peace and rallying for social justice.
     
  14. Kitt327

    Kitt327 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 23, 2000
    Heh, check out this website:

    http://www.sorryeverybody.com/

    Someone really needs to start www.weforgiveyou.com
     
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