CLEVELAND - LIVE!
It's election day here in the US and the talk promises to be spicy. We're in Ohio and a big thank you to our hosts who are helping us out today and tomorrow.
Election day from Ohio
Mark: 鈥淥hio is an indicator species for how the rest of the country goes. As Ohio goes, so goes the US.鈥
Some comments from our Cleveland audience to start us off:
鈥淲e rarely give the same party all the power and this time we had for the last 8 years. It鈥檚 time to get back to compromise.鈥
鈥淚 voted today based on the economy in Ohio鈥
鈥淚 work with older people and I鈥檓 concerned with how we treat our citizens. We need a change.鈥
鈥淭here is a throw the bums out attitude right now.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 voting against corruption.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 voting for economic reform.鈥
鈥70% of the country want stem-cell research and both Ohio senators voted against it.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 an independent. I vote on issues based on my morals and ethics.鈥
鈥淢y concern, especially in Ohio, there is not enough awareness of people with disabilities.鈥
Betty is in our Nairobi studio: 鈥淲hat matters most for me, as an African, the leaders should have an African agenda. What can they do for Africa? Generally people are dying because of injustices inflicted on them by irresponsible leaders.鈥
Some comments from our audience:
鈥淚 am a Palestinian. I hope the people will vote for international policy and change in the Middle East.鈥
Ros is asking where the Republican supporters are, Ohio was a red state after all?
鈥2004 was partially because they brought in non-issues. We lost the real issues.鈥
鈥淥hio has always been more of a moderate state.鈥
鈥淐uyahoga county is a blue county in a red state.鈥
Mervat is in our London studio, sitting opposite me actually: 鈥淚鈥檓 not in a position to tell Americans how to vote. They should take into consideration the situation in the ME and the so-called WOT. The policy that GW is taking is nourishing terrorism.鈥
Someone in the audience has a real poser: 鈥淲hat is meant by cleaning the Augean stables?鈥
It鈥檚 a new one on me but thanks to the powers and wonders of Google I can reveal the metaphor is from .
Skip has called in from Canada: 鈥淚 thank God every day because we have Bush in power. And it looks like you鈥檝e stacked the audience. People have to understand that none of us have the information the professionals have. When Conservatives voted for Bush and the GOP it鈥檚 because they demonstrated our values.鈥
Wade: 鈥淚 believe Americans voted out of fear. We should spend more at home.鈥
Skip: 鈥淚鈥檝e spent time travelling throughout Asia and Europe. The world does not think like we think. The world does not look at things from our values. It wasn鈥檛 Bush that decided we had to go to war. They took the battle to us.鈥
A response to Skip from the audience: 鈥淩ecently a group of generals have called for a change. Get Rumsfeld out.鈥
Mervat: 鈥淲here does he think the situation is getting better? I think things are going worse.鈥
Skip: I see it better in many locations. Afghanistan. They used to murder woman for showing her face. There鈥檚 a lot of change. Germany didn鈥檛 turn around after WWII in months. It took years.鈥
Someone wants to ask Skip about the world鈥檚 number one bogeyman: 鈥淗ow do you feel about OBL getting away?鈥
Skip: 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure he鈥檚 gotten away. He is a player but terrorism is an idea a concept.鈥
Mirek: 鈥淎 lot of people especially outside the USA don鈥檛 realise the elections are local.
We鈥檛e back after the news鈥
鈥淩epublicans aren鈥檛 what they used to be. They have become this Christian fundamentalist right wing . . . 鈥
鈥淚 want to address one of Skip鈥檚 points. He said we should trust the pros. Well most of the agencies in the USA said that the threat of terrorism is worse now.鈥
鈥淢ost of my students are comparable with what in most countries are fifth and fourth graders.鈥
Mervat: 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite simple. It turned out that they lied about WMD.鈥
Some comments . . . Skip has caused a stir.
鈥淎bout two thirds of Americans are voting with machines that have not been used before.鈥
鈥淪kip says we have a duty to change cultures? That is an arrogant idea.鈥
鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 it be a boring world if everyone were the same.鈥
Hisham is in France: 鈥淚 have a lot of respect for the American people. I鈥檓 very sorry to see that America is today like a banana republic with the illusion of democracy. Multinationals and pressure groups are the real power holders.鈥
Some responses to that statement:
鈥淚 voted in absentia because I don鈥檛 trust the machines.鈥
鈥淚 feel confident my vote was counted.鈥
Hossain: 鈥淭he Chinese people without shooting one bullet have conquered the heart of the 48 countries of Africa. The American style of leadership is to spend money and lose lives. This brings hatred to the world. It is no use to say Republicans are better than Democrats or Democrats are better than Republicans.鈥
鈥淚 want the government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom鈥
鈥淭here are no viable alternatives. I鈥檝e voted green and libertarian but really it鈥檚 a two-party system.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a constitutionally limited democracy.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 from the UK but I have a vote here. People don鈥檛 discuss politics and religion. People need to debate it more.鈥
Betty: 鈥淚鈥檝e always thought that Americans don鈥橻t consider anything beyond their borders.鈥
An Ohian responds: 鈥淯nfortunately Betty, you may be right. Our representatives represent the corporations with money. They don鈥檛 represent us. It鈥檚 the same for Democrats and Republicans. The pople who pay the candidates are the ones who are going to be listened to.鈥
Betty: 鈥淚t鈥檚 only he rich who will ever represent us . . I think that what鈥檚 she鈥檚 saying.鈥
鈥淪he鈥檚 right: we can鈥檛 see out of our borders. People think history started with 911. 911 was caused by how we bully other countries.鈥
鈥淲e vote by soundbite and ad campaign.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 the neo-cons who have betrayed the values of Conservatism.鈥
Eric in Annapolis: 鈥淏ush is the only person who has got the message from the radical muslims; who want to put the entire world under Sharia law.鈥
鈥淚 would just say it鈥檚 very important that we get perspectives from other arenas. What we get in American media is so limited.鈥
A perfect cue for caller Khan in Afghanistan and his Eastern perspective: 鈥淏ecause of American intervention I was able to come to Afghanistan 5 years ago. I have a good life here. They would like to paint the whole world the same colour.鈥
Some comments from the audience:
鈥淭his comes from our limited worldview. People prefer it that way. They don鈥檛 travel overseas.鈥
Paul is in the Netherlands: 鈥淥f course they should vote Democrat. Bush has set the world on fire. He should be stopped by any means.鈥
Ros is just reminding folks that this is a mid-term.
Eric: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why people don鈥檛 realise that terror was going on before Bush. It was under Clinton and Reagan. The world never woke up to it. Now someone has decided to take action everyone is against him! Let鈥檚 stop people going to public places and blowing themselves up.鈥
Sayed is in Karachi and it looks like he鈥檚 getting the last word which is a shame because Mervat is dying to get on for one last bite: 鈥淭he last eight years have been a bad show. A lot of countries have suffered 鈥榗os of his policies. We are looking forward to change.鈥
See you all again tomorrow when we return to Cleveland, Ohio. The first mid-term results might be dribbling in by then so please join us for early reaction.
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