It's 2:30am GMT as I begin to write this post on November 5th 2008. Democrat Barack Obama has gained 195 votes against 76 for John McCain. Obama needs just 270 and he effectively rules the world unopposed for the next 4 years. Maybe the American civil war is finally over and this is the first true US General Election.

This was John McCain's only ever chance at being President, but it couldn't have come at a worse time. Someone had to stand for the Republicans, and I think he gave it a good shot - given that he must have known he only had at best a slim chance of winning. I reckon not many republicans would have agreed to give it a go. Fair play to him.

Here's my worry, and I'm sure it's nothing, but watching the US presidential coverage, I can't help remembering the feeling I had one balmy night in early May 1997. The witch's ghost was finally laid to rest and things, they told us, could only get better. Their definition of better turned out to be an interesting one to say the least, but as long as Obama isn't planning to launch New Democrats on the world, maybe things will start becoming a little less stupid on this damned planet.

Please don't forget to vote

UK voters may remember the night of April 9th 2002, when Labour were expected to landslide against the stagnation of the post-Thatcher years and yet another recession. The trouble is, they didn't win.

Instead of voting, I went to watch some rather poor quality jazz (Andy Shepard and In Commotion at Band on the Wall in Manchester, as I recall). I, like everyone else, felt confident I'd be waking up under a Labour government the next morning come what may. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Enough voters also seemed to take it as a foregone conclusion that there'd be a change of government and didn't vote. Somehow it seemed like it was just time for change. Maybe if enough people had voted the way they said they would and Neil Kinnock had become premier, New Labour would never have come into being. What a different world it may have been.

Nothing is a foregone conclusion in politics, specially at election time. So, if you want change in the US tonight, please for the good of your own happiness, GET OUT AND VOTE!