The US election is tomorrow (our time). It’s a curious thing really – to be so interested in the election of a foreign country’s leader. But it’s also a unique situation, because in a lot of ways, the winner of the US poll will in many ways affect Australia more than the winner of our election a few weeks back. If sanity prevails and Kerry wins (hey, he may not be the best candidate possible, but he’s definitely the best candidate they have to choose from), then Australia will really have to change its tune internationally (you really think Howard will tell President Kerry where to go, and keep doing as he pleases now?) And while most of the problems that exist will still be here, the chance to almost immediately change how they’re tackled will be here.

As for the chances of Kerry winning, they actually seem to be improving. I read this morning that even oil traders are now predicting a Kerry victory, saying that prices will be lower due to a different approach to middle-eastern policy and a greater investment in alternative energy sources. Definitely not the sort of support Democrats were expecting I suppose, but still worth pointing out.

Will there be fraud and abuse at the polls? Probably. And while no one’s naïve enough to think that both sides won’t try things, we all know that it’s primarily a Republican tactic. Traditionally, the more people who vote, the more chance Democrats will win, the less that vote the more chance that Republicans will win. So they have the motivation right there.

As for the rest of the world, I guess we just sit back and wait and see…