United States Presidential Election 2008

 

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Why should the world have a say in the US Election?

If every nation has a right to self-determination, does the rest of the world have a right to an opinion on that country’s election? Many people around the world have argued that in the case of the United States in particular, the rest of the world has a right to let US citizens know how they feel, and that US citizens have a responsibility to consider those feelings when casting their vote.        

The United States is without question the most dominant country on the world’s stage, and its every move has an impact on the rest of the world far greater than any other single country. This influence is felt on all levels of society - politics, economics, environment, military, culture and even religion.

The 2008 US election is has captured the attention of the rest of the world perhaps more than any previous election. Eight years of the George W Bush administration have taken the country - and the much of the rest of the world with it - into two ongoing wars, an energy crisis and an economic recession. Its foreign and internal policies have also contributed to the current world food crisis. Bush is arguably the most unpopular president in history, both within his own country and throughout the world.

The world waits with baited breath for the outcome of this election, but here at Global Votes you can let your voice be heard. Whether you live in the United States or elsewhere, you can cast your vote and express your opinions in our Debate section. This vote will be open until the real election on Tuesday 4 November.

The Candidates

John McCain

Barack Obama

For the purpose of this vote we are focusing on the two main presidential candidates, Senator John McCain (Republican - Arizona) and Senator Barack Obama (Democrat - Illinois). Even though there are other candidates, realistically only one of these two men will be President after the election. For more information on each candidate, click on their names.

The candidates’ policies contrasted

The official US Government site offers a basic contrast of each candidate’s stance on nine major issues.        

The CNN site is also basic, covering 20 issues.

BBC News is basic on eight issues but has links to more detailed analysis on all of these issues except for climate change.

The New York Times has a more detailed contrast of 11 issues with many links to more information. On the economy it offers a more comprehensive analysis.

Truthout has a broad and clear examination of both candidates tax proposals, based on an incisive Washington Post chart.

The excellent Science Debate 2008 site compiled 3,400 questions from more than 38,000 scientists, engineers and other concerned citizens, and narrowed these down to 14 questions that were put to both candidates. Their answers are presented in a side by side comparison.

In-depth analysis

This presidential campaign has been noted by the Washington Post and the New York Times for a significant amount of outright lies being pushed by both candidates.        

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s. He examines the impartiality of the major US news media at the independent Consortium News website.

Read the excellent introduction to the book ‘America Against the World - How We Are Different and Why We Are Disliked’ by Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes. It is not a work of speculation, relying principally on survey data collected by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Former Australian conservative prime minister Malcolm Fraser believes that America has lost its way in the world.

The religious right plays a strong role in US politics - unique for a western democracy. Truthout presents a five-part series on how the US founding fathers’ idea of separation between church and state morphed into ‘One nation under God’.

1222470286//F jS, YSeptember 27th, 2008 by Globalvotes

(3) Comments

Posted in Announcements, Current Votes, US Election 2008

3 Responses to “United States Presidential Election 2008”

1. RD Says:
   1222361228//F jS, YSeptember 25th, 2008 at 1222361228//g:i a%1:%Sep %p

   I find this concept very inspiring. Just now reading the ‘Science Debate 2008‘ link. Clever questions with interesting answers, indeed. Keep it up mate

2. Fad Says:
   1222638483//F jS, YSeptember 28th, 2008 at 1222638483//g:i a%1:%Sep %p

   Very interesting site, anticipating more votes….and moreso, the results !

3. dennis Says:
   1225706534//F jS, YNovember 3rd, 2008 at 1225706534//g:i a%0:%Nov %p

   You have rightly said that before casting vote which is tomorrow the voter must think who is the best among the two. Apart from that each and every eligible voters must cast his vote in yhis critical election to save democracy.
   Dear Citizen:
   Are you ready yet for the November 4th Elections? How about your friends, family, and neighbors?
   More Americans are expected to vote this year than ever before in history, so don’t be left out! Be sure to ask everyone you know the following questions:
    Are you registered to vote? If you moved recently, have you updated your voter registration?
    Did you apply for an Absentee Ballot? Do you know your state may not require any reason?
    Can you find your local Polling Place? Do you know it may have changed from last time?
   The answers to these questions — and all your voting needs — can be found at http://www.StateDemocracy.org — the FREE 1-Stop citizen empowerment portal that Delivers Democracy to your Desktop! StateDemocracy is among the Internet’s first (since 2001) and most encompassing civic empowerment tools.
   In order to boost voter participation this year, StateDemocracy.org is offering FREE widgets for all 50 states. You can simply download and embed these widgets into your own website so your visitors can register to vote, get an absentee ballot or find their local polling place.
   Lobby Congress Via StateDemocracy
   StateDemocracy.org also equips you to maintain an active dialog with your state and federal lawmakers once they are elected. And RIGHT NOW is an especially opportune time to contact your U.S. Senators and House Member, as Congress takes up major legislation on such issues as offshore oil drilling, another economic stimulus package and all federal appropriations bills over the next few weeks.
   As you lobby your elected officials, remember that lawmakers view your constituent input as reflective of scores of other citizens who felt similarly, but didn’t have (or take) the time to share their opinions.
   LobbyDelegates.com Further Empowered Grassroots Voices
   Over the past 5 months, you may have visited http://www.LobbyDelegates.com, along with 26,000 other visitors. This latest public interest portal by the StateDemocracy Foundation remained the only online tool enabling rank-and-file Democrats to lobby all 800+ Super Delegates on which candidate to back for the party’s Presidential nomination.
   StateDemocracy Foundation Website Users Unite!
   Many of you have used our StateDemocracy.org and LobbyDelegates.com tools in recent times, and have hopefully found your experience uplifting and empowering. I encourage all of you to help spread the news about StateDemocracy.org to enable more of our fellow citizens to Connect! Engage! And Empower!

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