Stars & Stripes

I love Politics. Not the crap that goes on here at home though. Fools from one generation spoiling the country & laying the foundation for their descendants to come in to power & spoil it even more. I love the elections that happen in the United States of America. It is a complicated & long election. One that is totally entertaining. And worth following!! Okay, I admit it! Canal+ in France does not show any English programme. So, I was stuck with CNN & was hooked to this "Super Tuesday" blockbuster unfolding in front of me.

Here's a gist of the Electoral process.

The first part is called the primary. That is the part which is in progress right now. During this part each party (Democrats and Republicans) will choose a candidate. They choose by holding an election among registered party members in each U.S. State. Based on each state's results, candidates get "delegates". For instance, in New Hampshire, Clinton and Obama each got 39% of the vote, so each got 9 delegates. Edwards got 17% of the vote, so he got 4 delegates.

The primary ends at the party's National Convention. At the convention each delegate is represented by an actual person appointed by the party. Most people/delegates must vote based on the state elections. However about 20% of them are "Super Delegates". These are party leaders and people currently serving in political offices. They can vote for whomever they want. Based on the vote at the National Convention, the party chooses its candidate.

In the general election, the Republican and Democratic candidate face each other. Often, other independent candidates also run, but only rarely do they become significant in the election.

The general election is held on a single day (Nov 4, 2008). On that day, all registered voters can vote for anyone they want but typically vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate.

Rather than just comparing the total vote counts, there is a system for determining the winner called the "Electoral College". Each state is worth a certain number of "electors". For example, New Hampshire is worth 4 electors. Whatever candidate gets the most votes in a state gets ALL the electors for that state.

There are a total of 538 electors. The number of electors in each state is based on that state's population. A candidate needs to win the majority of electors (270) to win the presidency.

Whoever wins the election on Nov 4, 2008 becomes the President on January 20, 2009.

What's interesting is that for a huge period, Senator Hillary Clinton had this race in the kitty. But a hugely unknown candidate, Barrack Obama threw his hat in to the race & things are really really interesting now. That shows you what a great country it is — when an African-American with a Kansas mother and a Kenyan father, who spent time growing up in Indonesia and is running for President. Truly awesome. And the best part is, he is kicking Hillary's butt, county after county.

Hillary Clinton has all the experience she needs. A great campaign manager with a good team that knows how to win. Fair or dirty. She has Bill Clinton (they are still married :P) with her to give her the much needed support when it comes to the grueling campaigns. She has a huge majority of the female vote. BUT, she hasn't been smart from time to time. Here's the biggest one. Mrs. Clinton, trying to make a point about presidential leadership and Obama’s constant references to Dr. King, the civil rights icon, said: “Dr. King’s dream began to be realised when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done.” I said "Mrs. Clinton" instead of Hillary because the entire speech just reeks of Bill Clinton's smug attitude. And by the way, Mrs. Clinton, BIG mistake. Undermining Martin Luther King when your major opponent is rallying for the African-American vote is a BIG mistake. Obama has never looked back after that. He has grown from strength to strength. Winning county after county. 10 in a row. Even at places where he had no hope 2 months back.

But the fun part is when the news channels take this in to their hands & make good viewing out of it. And who better than Jimmy Kimmel & Jay Leno :D

Here are few classics.

“Bill Clinton lashed out at Barack Obama yesterday, he accused him of running a fairy tale campaign. It’s a fairy tale in which a horny king tries to get his queen elected to the White House so he can go out and fornicate with maidens, and then a handsome black prince comes along and screws the whole thing up for him. So, you can see why he’s very upset.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“Well, congratulations to Barack Obama, the big winner of the Democratic caucus. Stunning victory. He got 57% of the youth vote, 35% of the female vote, and 100% of Iowa’s black vote, a guy named Larry.” –Jay Leno

“Senator Barack Obama was in Los Angeles last night for a huge campaign fundraiser. That shows you what a great country this is — when an African-American with a Kansas mother and a Kenyan father, who spent time growing up in Indonesia and is running for president, spending time in a state where Spanish-speaking people have elected an Austrian governor.” –Jay Leno

“Senator Hillary Clinton is back from her fact-finding trip to Iraq. She had to cut the trip short because she had to address a growing threat here at home — Barack Obama.” –Jay Leno

" Hillary Clinton is still doing very well in one state - the state of denial, ladies and gentlemen. Well, after winning 10 in a row, political experts say there's a very good chance that Barack Obama could end up as our next president. See, that shows you the progress we've made in this country. We can have a black man in the White House. I remember when we couldn't get a black man in the cast of 'Friends.'" --Jay Leno

Now, Hillary Clinton is left to throwing tantrums and handbags at Obama. Frustration is clearly visible. The dream is slipping away. True, Obama could end up losing this election & Mrs. Clinton could become the President. But, what this election has shown is that people's votes actually do count. Well, maybe not in Florida :P

* Thanks to answerbag.com for all the insight on the electoral process.
* And thanks to Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman & Jon Stewart for making this an entertaining election.