Train Poll
November 3rd, 2004
This sunny Wednesday morning I’m riding the train to work on probably the most significant day internationally since September 2001. American politics seem so much more compelling that our own right now, and my TV was on at 0530 this morning to sate my curiosity. I was slightly appalled to see that things are not looking good for Kerry, but the train doesn’t wait, so off I commuted.
So now, from my tastelessly upholstered vantage point, I can see a carriage full of headlines, bumping and rocking in loose synchrony as we head to work.
Maybe it’s my freshly charged political outlook, but today I start to think that perhaps it’s possible to abstract some information from all of this. Surely the popularity of certain papers and the headlines therein could give me some insight into England’s take on this most significant Global event?
Looking again, it appears that the most popular paper with my fellow commuters is The Sun, with 3 patrons nearby. On this historic day the red-top has chosen to lead with: "Kat has her kitten", a reference to Kat Slater (a character in Eastenders) who, it appears, has just had a baby. Oh dear.
Next.
The Express (surely, please God, I am looking at one of only three people in the country reading this paper) has the improbable headline "Queen made to eat in Hitler’s banquet hall". This temptingly invites further analysis, but I must resist the urge to digress.
Moving on, I see that The Mail, that bastion of middle England, has gone with "Smack your child and go to jail". Quite a big headline - it’s taking up most of the cover. No US references whatsoever.
Thank goodness …broadsheets. These are represented by The Independent and The Times, both managing one reader apiece. A sombre looking back-to-back composite of the contenders doesn’t say much on the front of the Independent, but in an impressive display of bet-hedging The Times pictures an unflatteringly simian Bush with the strapline "I gave it everything". This says to me that although they thought Bush would get the boot, they’d better go for a relatively generic shot to avoid egg-on-face should he win. Clever.
As an aside, English editors must hate the US elections. It’s one of those rare occasions when readers almost certainly know the whole story by the time the out-of-date newspapers come out. Maybe that’s why so many shirk the issue.
So, by my estimation the national mood comes in at about 2 to 1 in favour of ignorance. I’m left worrying about the state of our nation, and thinking that maybe if it were us voting right now, despite how relatively enlightend I’d like to believe we are, Bush might just have nicked it here as well.