US vs UK politics

selkent

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I appreciate that the US election is an important one, possibly history changing(possibly) but why is there so much coverage of it on British television? An additional question to US residents; is there any coverage of the run up to a UK general election or is it deemed not newsworthy?
 

B_Nick4444

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just kidding, of course!

just part of the parochialism that colours the American perspective

plus, the tenor and texture of our lives that requires a more narrow specified focus

at one point in my life I could recite the monarchical succession as easily as I could recite the list of American Presidents

but that was because of my intense curiosity at that point on that subject

at the moment I could tell you all about Khmer classical dance and the aquatic ape theory of evolution, but only because they are subjects that came up in the book I'm writing

I would not be able to tell you anything about the UK elections

pity, because I would like to know very much more about the country whose policies I despise, and whose flag I would like to burn
 

flame boy

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The election in the US is quite monumental this time around, there was a ton of coverage back in 2004 and because of 24 hour news channels it appears like its always on (they need to fill time!). Also as the UK has a close relationship with the US the selection of their president will have an effect on us.

I'm sure UK politics does get a mention, but our system is no where near as drawn out (usually elections are a 2-3 month thing) meaning there is less time for coverage.
 

Principessa

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I appreciate that the US election is an important one, possibly history changing(possibly) but why is there so much coverage of it on British television? An additional question to US residents; is there any coverage of the run up to a UK general election or is it deemed not newsworthy?

You have elections? I thought Queen Bets' and Parliament ran everything. :biggrin1: Just kidding.

Elections in other countries are mentioned on the major news networks. I seem to recall it being all that was mentioned when you got a new Prime Minister. Can't for the life of me remember who took over after that milk toast Tony Blair though. :redface:
 

D_Chaumbrelayne_Copprehead

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I'm sure UK politics does get a mention, but our system is no where near as drawn out (usually elections are a 2-3 month thing) meaning there is less time for coverage.

Flame boy has a good point ... you Brits get in, get the election done, and move on. Here in the US, this one has dragged on for over a year.
 

Maia

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There is a lot of coverage world wide, I can speak from witnessing it. Mainly it is due to all of us in the rest of the world being in desperate prayer that the Republicans don't get another go after 8 years of Bush. That is the reason, in seriousness. Second to that is to see if the "leader of the free world" can be selected from a typically under-represented minority.
 

Drifterwood

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The US is 6 times bigger than the UK and exponentially more influential on a global scale. Add to that what many feel is a truly historic moment and the coverage is understandable and even to this antimerichun a very watchable drama. I am praying it doesn't turn out a tragedy.
 

D_Jared Padalicki

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I appreciate that the US election is an important one, possibly history changing(possibly) but why is there so much coverage of it on British television? An additional question to US residents; is there any coverage of the run up to a UK general election or is it deemed not newsworthy?

Not only in the UK man, also here in Belgium and everywhere else....
 

Mr. Snakey

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The US is 6 times bigger than the UK and exponentially more influential on a global scale. Add to that what many feel is a truly historic moment and the coverage is understandable and even to this antimerichun a very watchable drama. I am praying it doesn't turn out a tragedy.
Yes you make a very good point. Im voting for 30 years and i take pride in voting and look forward to election day. How ever i am not looking forward to this election. I fear a tragedy of which would take my country 20 years to recover from. I pray and hope that i am wrong. I must also say with the massive voter fraud thats be going on i dont even see us knowing who won for a while. And by the way this election has been stolen even before most of us have a chance to vote. Please keep in mind i am speaking as a member and not a moderator. I stay way from politics. Forgive me for painting such a dark picture. This was just something i had to get off my chest.
 

Gl3nn

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Too bad it has to take so long indeed. If it would only go as in the UK or Belgium or lots of other countries.

I know it's important but it's getting pretty boring.


(ps: getting less votes and still winning? work on your system...)
 

No_Strings

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The UK economy, much like the weather, seems to be around 2-6 weeks behind the US. This election will have ramifications - political and economical - around the entire world, especially in Western Europe.
Just look at what the GBP/EUR/USD are now compared to 6 months ago, and then compared to 12 months ago. :frown:
 

SpeedoGuy

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IAn additional question to US residents; is there any coverage of the run up to a UK general election or is it deemed not newsworthy?

Coverage in the popular US media of the political processes of other nations is quite shallow, even for the UK's elections. Regrettably, I can only conclude that media consumers here view foreign politics as irrelevant. Those Americans interested in learning more about how other nations conduct their politics are on their own to learn whatever they can.
 

Flashy

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The US is 6 times bigger than the UK and exponentially more influential on a global scale. Add to that what many feel is a truly historic moment and the coverage is understandable and even to this antimerichun a very watchable drama. I am praying it doesn't turn out a tragedy.

the US is not 6 times bigger than the UK

-the UK has roughly 61.2 million people in it, according to the latest (2008) estimates

-The US has roughly 305.5 million people in it (2008)

that is roughly 5 times more...not six times.

you were off by about 60 million people
 

Flashy

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Coverage in the popular US media of the political processes of other nations is quite shallow, even for the UK's elections. Regrettably, I can only conclude that media consumers here view foreign politics as irrelevant. Those Americans interested in learning more about how other nations conduct their politics are on their own to learn whatever they can.

true, but in reality, the elections of most other countries do not have any effect on us...only certain European Countries (UK, Germany, France, Russia) and Asian/Pacific Rim Countries (China, Japan, India, Australia) have any real impact on us in the truest sense.

I find the UK elections interesting. I pay attention to Japan, Germany, Russia and ISraeli elections...in passing.

but generally people do not pay attention to countries that are much smaller than theirs in terms of elections...

I mean seriously...how much attention to Britons pay to the elections in a country 5 and 6 times smaller than it like Greece or Portugal, even if they are in the EU?