To my American friends...

Tomorrow is November 4th, the day of the US general election. Eight years of George Bush have (finally) come to a close and you all get to decide who his successor will be. Unfortunately no matter how much it affects the rest of the world, we can't vote. But you can, and you should because this is the closest thing we have to a fair society, everyone deciding together which is the best course of action.

I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, I just ask you to vote. If you have somehow managed to avoid the election build up and are still clueless, take a quick look at the candidates. It really won't take long for you to grasp the major differences between the two men's policies, and decide which you believe to be the most sensible. I also ask that you remember that we are a global community. However you know me, I doubt it would have been possible ten years ago. That connection we have is new, and it's growing stronger all the time, and I think it's important that the man in charge of the most powerful nation in the world understands what's happening in it.

I'm going to give you my opinion briefly, but I stand by the original point that the most important thing is to vote, and to vote based on what you think is best, not what I or anybody else thinks.

Were I able to cast a vote, it would be for Barack Obama.

Having stayed up for many late nights watching this race unfold, I found myself siding with Obama on almost every policy. The economy, health care, the environment, foreign policy... I haven't got the time to go into detail on each one, but if you have any specific questions leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them. But beyond agreeing with the policies, I have been very impressed with the man behind them. I rarely get into politics. I don't really trust politicians. They always seem at least a couple of generations away from me and totally unapproachable and unable to understand anyone under the age of 30.

But I don't find that with Obama. He manages to be inspirational without being corny, intelligent without being superior, and he is able to connect with a generation that was all but ready to give up on politics before it ever became politicised. I think he is just what the world needs in these unstable times.

But I can't vote so what I think doesn't matter. What you think, does.

I'll leave you with a beautiful quotation from Katrina that pretty much sums everything up;

"Go vote tomorrow or you're not allowed to bitch about what happens."