If the World Could Vote -- As of right now -- 86% of the WORLD prefers OBAMA

IF THE WORLD COULD VOTE ^ | TODAY | If the World Could Vote DOT COM

[davidosborne]

If the world could vote?

What would happen if the world could vote in the US presidential elections?

Your vote has been cast. Thank you.

Barack Obama	86.7% (3393 votes)
John McCain	13.3% (521 votes)

Total number of votes: 3914 Countries voted from: 56

	Country	Barack Obama		John McCain
	Antigua and Barbuda	100%		0%
	Argentina	100%		0%
	Austria	50%		50%
	Australia	94.3%		5.7%
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	100%		0%
	Belgium	92.5%		7.5%
	Brazil	50%		50%
	Canada	91.7%		8.3%
	Switzerland	95.7%		4.3%
	China	66.7%		33.3%
	Colombia	100%		0%
	Czech Republic	66.7%		33.3%
	Germany	90.9%		9.1%
	Denmark	89.8%		10.2%
	Ecuador	100%		0%
	Spain	100%		0%
	Finland	90.9%		9.1%
	Faroe Islands	100%		0%
	France	96.8%		3.2%
	United Kingdom	93.2%		6.8%
	Georgia	100%		0%
	Greece	83.3%		16.7%
	Hong Kong	100%		0%
	Hungary	100%		0%
	Indonesia	100%		0%
	Ireland	92.9%		7.1%
	Israel	46.7%		53.3%
	India	100%		0%
	Iceland	90.5%		9.5%
	Italy	100%		0%
	Japan	100%		0%
	Lithuania	100%		0%
	Luxembourg	100%		0%
	Mauritius	100%		0%
	Maldives	100%		0%
	Mexico	85.7%		14.3%
	Malaysia	100%		0%
	Netherlands	94.4%		5.6%
	Norway	100%		0%
	Niue	85.5%		14.5%
	New Zealand	31.9%		68.1%
	Peru	100%		0%
	Pakistan	100%		0%
	Poland	75%		25%
	Portugal	100%		0%
	Romania	100%		0%
	Russian Federation	66.7%		33.3%
	Sweden	95.7%		4.3%
	Singapore	100%		0%
	Slovenia	100%		0%
	Thailand	100%		0%
	Turkey	100%		0%
	Taiwan	100%		0%
	Ukraine	100%		0%
	United States	83.8%		16.2%
	South Africa	100%		0%
	Country	Barack Obama		John McCain

You are from United States

contact@iftheworldcouldvote.com

• FAQ

[Fresh Wind]

Soon, all these countries will be DEMANDING to be able to vote in US elections, with the help of the UN, of course.

[davidosborne]

It is not about this particular poll.. but rather the data represented in it — not so much right now.. but between now and November.. The data is certainly worthy of debate/discussion... ignoring data/facts is foolish IMHO... do you disagree with data and/or what it represents?

FReegards,

David

[davidosborne]

very possible and scary my FRiend...

[killjoy]

The data is certainly worthy of debate/discussion... ignoring data/facts is foolish IMHO... do you disagree with data and/or what it represents?

I disagree. I have been living in Thailand for a number of years now and the average Thai does not care at all about US politics. The only ones who take notice are some of the university students and that is because they are under the spell of their current professor... probably a foreigner. I have occasional discussions about the US with people, but it is always just something to talk about, not a heated debate with any substance. The handful of times I have had a heated discussion has been when the person in question has direct connections with a foreigner who is influencing their opinion. A girl who was dating a German comes immediately to mind.

Since the site is hosted in the US, I have no doubt 'iftheworldcouldvote.com' was setup by an American. It is funny for me since I came to the conclusion a long time ago that it is Americans who have an overinflated view of themselves in world affairs. The majority of the rest of the world simply does not care what goes on in the US.

[davidosborne]

I too have traveled the world (primarily as a U.S. Soldier)... and I have found that the average “educsated” foreigner DOES in fact follow U.S. politics... some more than others of course....

[killjoy]

I have found that the average “educsated” foreigner DOES in fact follow U.S. politics... some more than others of course....

If you talk to them about it, yes. But it is definitely not a topic of daily conversation when there are no Americans around. I will not say it doesn't happen, but I think it is an incredibly rare occasion that foreign nationals sit around with the goal of discussing US politics amongst themselves. There are simply much higher priorities in life for them.

[davidosborne]

The contrast I was suggesting was that if a foreigner visits America and talks to a typical “educated” U.S. citizen it would be very rare that the U.S. citizen would know anything at all about that country’s politics... for that matter the typical educated U.S. citizen knows LESS about U.S. politics that the typical educated NON-U.S. folks.

sad.. but true my FRiend.. do you think otherwise?

[killjoy]

for that matter the typical educated U.S. citizen knows LESS about U.S. politics that the typical educated NON-U.S. folks.

do you think otherwise?

At this point, I only feel comfortable talking about Thailand, so I will limit my discussion to what I see here. In order to frame the discussion properly, you need to look at where Thais get their information about US politics. It is mostly from either the major international news networks (CNN, BBC, Fox), local Thai television news, or Thai papers. There is almost no access to original US source material except what has been filtered through the media. (An argument can be made that the information is available online but I think the percentage actively seeking it out is negligible).

Whenever I hear a Thai talk about politics, it is almost always what they heard in a Thai news report or from a foreigner living here. Both of these sources are obviously incredibly biased... both good and bad. As a perfect example, a good friend of mine last week asked me about the Presidential elections and stated he likes Obama. I asked why, and his answer was because another American friend of his said that Obama is a good guy. He knew nothing else about him. Far from being uneducated, this conversation was with someone very high up in the Royal Thai Police.

As a counter, a Malaysian friend in KL was much more direct about Obama. He said that Obama should have his US citizenship taken away and be deported. Obama's crime was refering to himself as an 'African-American' instead of as an 'American'. This conversation was with a rather wealthy Malaysian businessman.

I see on FR, and other places, a larger percentage of people who wish to see the worst in the US instead of seeing it for what it is. The US is still a great place with a highly educated population that, compared with the rest of the world, is way above average. Yes the US has problems but unlike Iraq or Thailand, doesn't have IEDs going off on a daily basis.

[davidosborne]

Thank you very much for you thoughtful reply.. I am very interested in the dynamics of “transnational culture” — thanks for your input I will compare your thoughts with those of other folks on this topic.. I will be tracking this thread all the way through November.. The poll that is the source of this thread is not mine, but I intend to help spread the word on it to get mass paticipation in it and then review the data as it flows in..

Thanks again,

FReegards,

David

[billybudd]

Yes, the world prefers Obama. Since Obama would act against the interests of the US and for the interests of other countries, most other countries support him. I love the spectacle of asking the Chinese or Arabs who should be our next president.

[davidosborne]

exactly... if the U.S. could vote for leaders of other nations we would have different world.... would we not?

[JudgemAll]

Instead of the settling and spreaad of freedom to the world, a positive drive against isolation, America has turned to Politicaly Correct Isolationism of giving up the reigns of the nation to the world. Obama is a symptom of our disease of turning America into a surrender ghetto to be administered by the rest of the world’s fascists - and lunatic idiots who don’t want to change but want America to accomodate and change for them and their perversions.

[davidosborne]

I don’t think America has surrendered yet.. we need a strong LEADER who understands EXACTLY what you are saying... sadly McCain is NOT that person.. and Obama is even worse.. IMHO.. Duncan Hunter was the right person in 2008 but the conservatives in America said it was his turn yet.. so now we are stuck with picking McCain as the lesser of the 2 evils.. is that how you see it my FRiend?

David

[killjoy]

Yesterday I performed a little political experiment. I asked 10 Thais if they could name the leaders of the countries bordering Thailand (Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia). Nobody could name the leaders of Burma, Laos, or Malaysia although a few correctly named the head of Cambodia. The individuals I asked were all college educated and included a few doctors.

Given that Thai news rarely focuses on high-level political issues related to these nations, I don't find this surprising at all. It does show that Thais will not go out of their way to self-educate themselves about issues in other countries if they are not directly exposed to them. IMHO, this backs up my previous post, namely that the only reason Thais are even familiar with Obama or McCain is because of name recognition from the media.

Comments?

[davidosborne]

interesting.. thanks for sharing that.. I wonder how many “votes” will be cast in this poll between now and November

Barack Obama 84.6% (4072 votes)
John McCain 15.4% (742 votes)

Total number of votes: 4814
Countries voted from: 64

[davidosborne]

If the world could vote?

What would happen if the world could vote in the US presidential elections?

Barack Obama	84.9% (4296 votes)
John McCain	15.1% (762 votes)

Total number of votes: 5058 Countries voted from: 67

	Country	Barack Obama		John McCain
	Antigua and Barbuda	100%		0%
	Argentina	100%		0%
	Austria	50%		50%
	Australia	92.8%		7.2%
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	100%		0%
	Bangladesh	100%		0%
	Belgium	91.8%		8.2%
	Brazil	66.7%		33.3%
	Canada	92.4%		7.6%
	Switzerland	96.4%		3.6%
	Chile	100%		0%
	China	80%		20%
	Colombia	100%		0%
		100%		0%
	Czech Republic	66.7%		33.3%
	Germany	92.3%		7.7%
	Denmark	90.8%		9.2%
	Ecuador	100%		0%
	Spain	100%		0%
	Finland	93.8%		6.3%
	Faroe Islands	100%		0%
	France	94.4%		5.6%
	United Kingdom	92.1%		7.9%
	Georgia	100%		0%
	Greece	85.7%		14.3%
	Hong Kong	100%		0%
	Croatia	100%		0%
	Hungary	100%		0%
	Indonesia	100%		0%
	Ireland	94.7%		5.3%
	Israel	46.7%		53.3%
	India	90%		10%
	Iceland	90.6%		9.4%
	Italy	100%		0%
	Japan	100%		0%
	Kuwait	100%		0%
	Lithuania	100%		0%
	Luxembourg	100%		0%
	Macedonia	100%		0%
	Mauritius	100%		0%
	Maldives	100%		0%
	Mexico	85.7%		14.3%
	Malaysia	100%		0%
	Netherlands	92%		8%
	Norway	100%		0%
	Niue	82.4%		17.6%
	New Zealand	36.4%		63.6%
	Panama	100%		0%
	Peru	100%		0%
	Pakistan	100%		0%
	Poland	80%		20%
	Portugal	100%		0%
	Romania	100%		0%
	Russian Federation	60%		40%
	Sweden	95.8%		4.2%
	Singapore	100%		0%
	Slovenia	100%		0%
	Slovakia	100%		0%
	Thailand	2.6%		97.4%
	Turkey	100%		0%
	Trinidad and Tobago	100%		0%
	Taiwan	100%		0%
	Ukraine	100%		0%
	United States	82.7%		17.3%
	Uruguay	100%		0%
	Venezuela	0%		100%
	South Africa	100%		0%
	Country	Barack Obama		John McCain

You are from United States

contact@iftheworldcouldvote.com

• FAQ

[davidosborne]

Total number of votes: 5058 Countries voted from: 67

[davidosborne]

Total number of votes: 5431 Countries voted from: 67

[davidosborne]

Barack Obama 85.3% (6097 votes)
John McCain 14.7% (1048 votes)

Total number of votes: 7145 Countries voted from: 73

[davidosborne]

Barack Obama 85.3% (6510 votes)
John McCain 14.7% (1118 votes)

Total number of votes: 7628 Countries voted from: 75