It's Election Day!

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Unless you’ve been lucky enough to be living under a rock—or, perhaps, in Europe—then you are most distinctly aware that today is Election Day in the United States. All the hype of the past two years has been leading inexorably (and excruciatingly) up to this day. What have we seen? What have we learned? While the media has tried (and, to a large measure, succeeded) to convince the general public that there is grand historical significance to this election, it has proven to be little more than the negativity circus that we have become accustomed to in our advertising and marketing fuelled age.

Mercifully, we Americans abroad have been spared a large amount of the campaign ads; unless we’ve been watching football. Instead, we have been educated on how closely followed and interested a large number of Europeans are in the American elections. Suffice to say, there has been more coverage on the BBC of the American elections than there has been of any manoeuvring in Parliament. It also goes without saying that the majority of Europeans are for Barack Obama, regardless of what they know about him or not. We’ve continued to learn about how Europeans see politics and how much this contrasts with American politics. In America (unless we’re Unionists or ignorant) we vote for the individual. In Europe, however, it is the party that is elected. Hence, most Europeans support Barack Obama not because he is eloquent or educated, but because he represents the opposition, the Democrats. Similarly, most do not like John McCain because he is a Republican. In our “shrinking world” it is the simple miscommunications or communication disconnects like these that get lost in the ever-accelerating and increasing mix of ideas of the Internet. Will these be addressed by our generation?

While it would be foolish to speak about how historical an election this is or is not, it is historical in a personal perspective. For the first time in his life, Will voted. The joke is that it took him leaving the country to finally get the motivation to vote. In seriousness, not having to deal with all the circus surrounding the campaigns (which Will disagrees with on principle) made it easier to make a decision and to educate oneself. Jackie voted absentee, as well; just another joy of being an expatriate. So while all of you are being inundated with exit polls and “educated punditry,” just remember: we aren’t.

We hope that you have been able to make a carefully considered, objective, and reasonably passion-free decision and that you have exercised your democratic responsibility responsibly. We also pray that whoever is elected will live out the oath of office with all the seriousness and servitude that it demands; remembering that they are to preserve, protect, and—above all other things—defend, not the nation, but the Constitution. One must, logically and inevitably, lead to the other.

And no, we’re not telling you who we voted for.

This is Will's president.