After what seems like years of campaigning, today is the day that Americans go to the polls to elect their new president. Non-Americans don’t get a vote, but the outcome of the elections is likely to have a significant effect on the rest of the world, just as it will have on the future of the US. According to the newspapers, the rest of the world is hoping that Barack Obama will be the successful candidate.
The “rest of the world” is currently suffering a global financial crisis which started in the US. The actions of the current US administration and its allies have had a direct impact on global security. Seventy percent of people in France say they would vote for Obama. Obama is the preferred candidate in China, in Gaza, in Moscow, in Kabul and in Nairobi. On the other hand, John McCain is the preferred candidate in Lahore and Baghdad.
According to Lifeway Research, the majority of Protestant pastors support McCain, but a significant number were still undecided as recently as last week. McCain is favoured by pastors not for his personal qualities but because of his party’s conservative stance on abortion and homosexuality. A number of pastors say that they are going to vote for independent candidates.