What are you going to discuss after the election?

Of course, I can't speak for Holland...but I must say that some of the vilest political (and racist etc.) rhetoric I have ever heard from clients has been from Dutch and other nice Europpean folk.

(waves to the aliens)

nimh wrote:

Mame wrote:

We're having one, too, and I don't hear any of the vitriol up here like I do on this board. [..] Why all the heat?

One of my pet explanations is that it's the two party system. In Holland we have something like 10 parties in parliament, and only when you hear the post-Fortuynists on the far right talking about "the left church" do you get the kind of vibe you get here. Otherwise there's a lot more relativation and also a lot more, I dunno, diversification - you got Greens kind of disagreeing with Socialists who semi-oppose Labour who really dislike the VVD but often can kind of live with Christian-Democrats who dislike the Democrats but have grudging respect for the Socialists or whatever ... in America, where everyone's either on one side or the other and it's a winner-takes-all contest, well ... it all automatically becomes very black/white.

Oh, that concentration of power must also play a role. In Holland, even if your party wins the elections, it's still gonna have to work out some kind of power-sharing agreement with at least one or often two other parties, and parliament is relatively strong; in America, the President and his hand-picked administration have a much bigger concentration of executive power. So there's just more at stake.

On the same count, I mean, its America - most powerful country in the world. There's just an effing lot at stake. As Dutchman or Canadian or New Zealander, you can still think, even if you've lost, you know, well - in the grander scheme of things ... how much difference is it gonna make? Not quite the same in America...

So yeah, I geuss lots of reason why the heat gets so much more painfully strung up there... but boy does it get tiresome sometimes, on that I agree. Still, I vent too. I despise the chain-yankers, but venting, sure... I do that.

I speak of political rancour, also.

But hell, you'd know from Holland....

Two party systems polarize a country, while multi party systems deliver only peace and harmony - as, for example, are so evident in Holland, Belgium, and even Germany where the SD party fades to competition on both the left and the right.

Omigosh! It’s almost here. The one and only Election Day! Except, of course, in the 30-odd states where voting has been going on for some time. Nov. 4 is not quite as much of an event there, although it’s still a big date, what with watching the returns and celebrating Laura Bush’s birthday, along with the increasingly popular feast of Half a Week After Halloween.

Our two-year presidential campaign now ends with a monthlong vote, followed by weeks of litigation over provisional ballots. After that, the new president is sworn in and given 100 days to accomplish his legislative agenda, after which everyone will start plotting for 2012.

It is a grand system in that great American tradition that has given us the seven-month baseball season and the half-gallon cup of soda. We have supersized the election. And why not? Barack Obama’s campaign budget is now supporting half the national economy. I don’t know how we’re going to get along without it, unless we can convince Mitt Romney to start gearing up instantly for his comeback.

The best approach at this point is probably to ignore all polls and just wait to see what happens. Take a deep breath. Do a little meditation. Make a list of all the things you’re going to do once you no longer have to spend time worrying about who’s going to be the next president.

I personally am planning to read the Russian classics.

After finally pulling that lever in the voting booth, many New Yorkers are going through post-election withdrawal. How do you cope without your constant Drudge drip, your nightly fix of Colbert, your online buddy Andrew Sullivan? Addiction specialists like NYU’s Dr. Samuel Glazer are helping campaign compulsives detox. “I have one client who’s clearly developed CNN dependence issues,” he says. “The election was taking over her life.” Here, a guide to five types of electoral junkie"and tips to ensure they get better.

Dataheads

Scandal Junkies

Hope Fiends

Palin Haters

Anxiety Relishers