Election Day--

It's weird to be overseas during a presidential election. Here--the election for prime minister isn't on a fixed day. The group in power "call the election" within a specified timeframe. 6 weeks after they announce it, its all over....and there's a ban on advertising the day before and the day of the election.

The federal elections were quick, just 6 weeks of political ads and photos ops. 6 weeks of talk show hosts taking jabs at John Howard's irritability and Kevin Rudd's boringness. It ended with a new Labour Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd whose polls picked up after visiting a strip club in NY while campaigning. It helped his image...it made him a man of the people.

The State Elections were in September and over almost before we even knew who was who in our local seats--this time with a split government, almost perfectly split between Labour (the democrats) and Liberals (the republicans) with the Nationals (for rural Australia) carrying the deciding votes. Eventually the Nationals formed a coalition with the Liberals 8 days later....which was a change of majority and opposition in the State government.

But they don't have to have years of campaigning--voting is mandatory by law, punishable by real fines. Since you have to vote, its not a question of if its a question of who. The question of who isn't really about an individual--their character, voting record etc--so much as it is about their party...because the majority party sets its team in place afterward and can change leadership without an election.

Not saying its right or its wrong, but its different.

Campaigns in the US elections don't really seem to be about deciding who most Americans support...its actually about which candidate can get their supporters off their butts to vote. We've already filed to get our absentee ballots...cause we can't sit this one out.

Neither can you (whichever way you are voting--this is gonna be a BIG one).

So here's a friendly reminder from famous people to REGISTER to vote --you have to register soon or you can't vote! and if you aren't persuaded by famous people, think of Nathan and I, we are political refugees from the last elections longing to come home.