(Re)Covering (from) the Election

If you’re an actual journalist from an actual journal of note, please - for the love of everything that is decent - please try to keep yourself from using the phrase, ‘Deja Vu All Over Again’.

For one thing, it’s no longer original and for another - it’s no longer original.

That off my chest, the CBC takes a quick look at how the election was covered by the major nets last night.

This Morning's Canadian OpEds

Tom Brodbeck says ‘It’s Time to Mend Fences’; Legendary Canadian OpEdist, Peter Worthington believes ‘Election is Polls Apart’; Toronto Sun’s Mike Strobel thinks this sort of election could happen ‘Only in America’; Thane Burnett talks to the mother of a Canadian-born U.S. marine.

Mark Bonokoski says the 600k eligible voters in Canada and the ‘slacker revolution’ didn’t make the difference for which the Dems had hoped; Ike Awgu of The Ottawa Sun appears to be engaged in the ‘politics of paniciness’; In Calgary, Rick Bell talks to a few Albertans about the election results.

Finally, a few words about the importance of yesteday’s election to the people of Afghanistan…

‘When the women of Bamiyan, Afghanistan were warned that Taliban remnants would attack polling stations, the women performed ritual bathing and said the prayers of those facing death. They then rose at 3 a.m., trekked an hour to wait in line for the polls to open at 7 a.m.’

Counting On Ohio

Lisa LaFlamme of Canada’s CTV and called in this report before heading off to the bar.

I wonder if it occurred to anyone (other than me) to market a t-shirt that says, ‘Ohio Is For Swingers’ on it? Lame, but eBay-ish.

Note: I have no idea where Ms LaFlamme went or what she did. I’m getting punchy.

CTV Showing Higher Still

Canadian network, CTV, now has Bush with 218 and Kerry still at 188. CBC’s results remain 210-199.

Neither’s online results reflect their broadcast information.

CBC and CTV Showing Higher EVs Than US Nets

CBC: Bush 210, Kerry 199
CTV: Bush 200, Kerry 188

CNN: Bush 197, Kerry 188
MSNBC: Bush 207, Kerry 199

If You're New to Voting: What Is a Swing State?

Since they hold collectively 181 electoral votes, I thought it might be of interest to those new to voting, or simply interested, to find some info regarding the ‘which and why’ of the swing states. Like ‘electoral college’, a lot of people hear the term ‘swing state’ but don’t fully understand the importance of those states to the candidates and why each candidate is willing to spend to much time and campaign money in those areas.

Some of these states are still up for grabs, and a couple of them (like Missouri) are very tight right now.

CBC Showing Bush With Popular Lead

Evdiently, CBC’s source is AP. Some national results are appearing on the CBC site as of a few minutes ago (on the right of the page).

At 6:45 EST, the numbers were at ‘0’; I reloaded at 6:47 EST and the figures were Bush with a 56%-43% lead with 35,797 votes to Kerry’s 27,601.

At 6:51 EST the figures went to 57%-42%.

Of course, that’s with miniscule returns.

A Smattering of Pro-Bush Canadian OpEds

‘I say thank God the United States did not have a government reflecting the views, positions, feelings and policies of the Canadian government during the perilous times after September 11, 2001.’ - John Crosbie, Toronto Sun

John Crosbie’s never been afraid to speak his mind, but he is fearful of a Kerry win.

Tom Velk is also openly critical of Senator Kerry, something you don’t hear on the streets of Canada, much less in Academia; Joe Warmington comes to Bush’s defense after an enounter with a grown man who refers to the President as ‘George Wanker bin Bush’; Radio host Michael Coren prefers neither candidate, though I suspect if forced to decide he’d opt for Bush; Walter Robinson gives Canadians just enough information to fake our way through wartercooler chats tomorrow morning.

Coverage in Canada

Two big things are dominating the news in Ontario today: Shania Twain is visiting Timmins and there’s an election in the U.S..

CityTV provided live coverage of the President casting his ballot in Crawford, Texas - in marked contrast to CBS, on which was a stunningly insightful discussion about pastel-coloured sweaters.

CityTV has also provided its viewers with information regarding the U.S. electoral process, a record of how each state voted in 2000 as well as a breakdown of the popular vote in each state in 2000.

CBC, one of our large national broadcasters, has been covering chunks of the election all day and will provide continuous coverage from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m.

The CBC website also provides Canadians (and you) with an election section that rivals those maintained by the U.S. networks. Example content: ‘Unauthorized Biography of Dick Cheney’ and a (very) detailed look at ‘Wilkes-Barr: Battleground City’.

Democrats Abroad Canada is hosting parties across the country, including here in Hamilton.

Republicans Abroad Canada, which doesn’t seem to be a large group, is holding a single party in downtown Toronto.