America is polarized, while the world is holding its breath
At least everyone has an opinion: from Eminem anti-Bush new song and video Mosh where "we see a woman opening an eviction notice while her children watch Bush talking about 'tax cuts' on television" (The Nation), the MoveOn.org initiatives "He Just Doesn't Get It, Give Bush the Boot" or simply the Drunk Against Bush site: "Some people demonstrate, some make movies and others terrorize when they are unhappy with something. We canalize our anger into something constructive - drinking. Have you been drinking against Bush during the last 24 hours?!"

Everything has been analysed and said, but here are some important conclusions. "If true voter equality is not a powerful enough reason to implement direct popular election of the president, avoiding scandalously contested outcomes every four years should be. Americans must ensure that their president is actually the candidate who receives the most votes." (The electoral college must go). With the current system, the final decision for electing the president of the world's most powerful nation lies in the hand of the undecided housewife in the developing country-side of Ohio: "I would think that we would want people to like us. I don't think Bush was being totally honest, but Kerry, on the other hand, does not inspire confidence. I'm probably swayed more towards Bush. It is a hard choice. The lesser of two evils? Saying that, I'm not sure it is Bush. I am swaying once again". (The undecided voter)

So why is everyone holding their breath? Because it matters to the world and to America: "In a hyperdemocratic age - when a rural Italian can watch a presidential press conference live on the internet and then complain to his elected representatives about it - it is part of the president's job description to appeal not just to foreign governments but to world opinion as well.. In the light of the Iraq war, America's role in the world has come to revolve around its legitimacy. Europe in particular has a vital role to play in determining how the US asserts itself, the kind of checking and balancing that a parliament gives to an executive.. For the first time, voters in every country have been polled about how they would vote if they could - as if the office in question were not president of the US but president of the world.. In broad terms, the old regime of international political authority is weakening in the face of globalisation, and no concrete political structures are yet in place to supplement or to supplant it." (Christopher Caldwell: Citizens of the world unite) Getting closer to giving stakeholders from all countries a percentage of other countries votes? Yes please..

Luckily, America will choose Kerry. "When they come to look in the mirror next Tuesday, most Americans will prefer light over darkness - tough-minded realism abroad and tolerance at home over faith-based fundamentalism. (Philip Stephens: Why America will choose Kerry)