Vote vote vote!

The polls will be closed by this time tomorrow, so don’t forget to vote, everyone if you’re a U.S. citizen. 🙂

Update: If you want to find out where to vote, you can go to http://maps.google.com/vote to find your voting location. And if you happen to be a California voter, you can brush up on the propositions online at California’s official voter guide site.

Update: Obama won the election with electoral votes to spare. Whether you like Obama’s policies or not, McCain put it well in his concession speech that tonight is a historic night. I’ve heard a lot of great speeches (I can recommend this CD set for example) and I thought the speeches tonight by both McCain and Obama were right up there.

73 Responses to Vote vote vote! (Leave a comment)

  1. Taking this to Twitter 😉

  2. I tried adding a closing /sarcasm tag to the above comment, but wordpress stripped it due to it resembling HTML.

  3. From what I see, Obama has bought all the votes he needs.

    What an obcene waste of money. While half the World starves and is dying, Obama is throwing money around like there is no Tomorrow.

    Shame of you Barack Obama.

  4. Dave (Original)

    All Ethical SEOes are invited to vote for Obama, for free 🙂

  5. Good luck with the election. May democracy win.

    Søren from Denmark

  6. We’re not all Americans, you know. Don’t forget that you have a global audience.

  7. Dave (original),

    Since one of the most famous stories involving a troll is the “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” would it be more fair to call you a “troll” or a “goat molester”?

  8. Ah yes. Vote Vote Vote For Nigel Barton! An interesting play by Dennis Potter.

    Your election is important, but you have a global audience, Matt.

    Encouraging people to vote tends to have no effect on the outcome. Those who won’t vote anyway have the same political spread as those who vote. But I suppose there’s more scope for ballot rigging with more people voting. Or has Florida been cured this time around?

  9. Dave (Original) – why do you see something wrong with someone using money that people gave him on the condition that he use it to get elected, rather than using it for a purpose other than which it was given?

    People gave this money for that exact reason – it’s their money to do with what they wish, and they chose to give it for this cause. If people want to give money for other causes, that’s their prerogative too.

  10. Dean – if you want to just read SEO posts, subscribe to just his SEO posts feed.

  11. Please do not vote if you are not educated on the issues and the candidates.

    Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

    Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean its right.

    If you really want to make a difference, learn about the candidates, learn about the issues, and then make an educated vote. If you can’t do that, please stay home today.

  12. I donated money to Barack to be used for him to be elected! 😛 As Ian said, that was the point of my doanation! Thanks Matt for posting about voting, because even though one post may be small, everyone together will make a difference!

  13. Nope, nope, nope!

    I was a sucker and voted in every single election for 25 years, but I finally came to my senses. I’ve renounced initiating force against my neighbors through others, as any decent human being should do. 😉

  14. Sorry but where I have to vote?

  15. I voted to weeks ago and I am on my way to Starbucks to get my free cup of coffee! I love election day.

  16. Tim not so older peopel voet more than youger for example

    And I was a little shocked at the extent of manipulation of the voter rolls that the various states go in for and as very suprsed that there isnt a country wide standard.

  17. Kyle: Add  nbsp;/sarcasm nbsp; . It will work.

    As far as Dave is concerned…the best thing everyone can do is just to let him rant and ignore whatever ridiculous thing comes from his direction until he tires himself out.

    He was pissed off at IncrediBill for no good reason.
    Today, he’s pissed off at Barack for no good reason (he should have at least picked “elitist out-of-touch snob” and would have gotten partial credit).
    Tomorrow he’ll be pissed off at Bill Gates for using his money to expand his empire or Madonna for openly discussing Kabbalah or some other stupid thing.

    Maybe if we all ignored him as a collective, he’d get the message.

  18. I voted a month ago 🙂 hope it reached the Marin County Registrar of Voters… if not I blame the Swedish postal system

  19. Dean, I started to say something like that, but for some reason didn’t. I amended the post to more accurately reflect that only my U.S. readers have a say in this today. 🙂

  20. Matt,

    “only my U.S. readers have a say in this today”

    I’m no U.S. reader, Matt. Therefore I’m asking you kindly to vote for Obama on my behalf 🙂

  21. I hope that Barack Obama wins, because I think i will be good for USA!

  22. Quote by dave (original):

    “From what I see, Obama has bought all the votes he needs.

    What an obcene waste of money. While half the World starves and is dying, Obama is throwing money around like there is no Tomorrow.

    Shame of you Barack Obama.”

    My response:

    No, shame on you! Based on your logic, all the rich folks (millionaires) should be giving some of their money to the poor & starving people of the world.

    So…based on your logic, Obama has a tax plan that you agree with, correct? …Since he is taking more from the rich, and allowing the poor & middle class to keep more of their income. You’ll probably disagree with me here because it would mean that you’re giving credit to Obama for doing what is right.

    Also, I agree with Ian M on the idea that the money he spent on his campaign was precisely the money that was allocated for his campaign. He did nothing illegal or immoral. The millions of dollars that he spent on his campaign was needed to get his word out and increase exposure. You have to keep in mind that McCain has been in the spotlight for a lot longer than Obama, so it would be fair to say that McCain had a head-start from the beginning.

  23. I voted a few weeks ago 😀

  24. Thanks John,

    We appreciate your opinion but we will vote anyway.

  25. When a Politician needs to spend that much money to get votes, he probably has half the Country bluffed. I’m surprised he’s giving free steak knives to anyone who votes for him,….or maybe he his 🙂

    Greg Bulmash,

    I’ve never heard of the “goat molester” in the story “Three Billy Goats Gruff”. Perhaps that was YOUR families version twisted around to suit your history?

    Multi-Worded Adam, perhaps you should heed your own advice and *PLEASE* ignore me. Your history of “ignoring” me is not too good to-date 🙂

  26. all the rich folks (millionaires) should be giving some of their money to the poor & starving people of the world.

    Sounds good to me.

  27. Matt,
    I liked the postings that Google did during the debates regarding search terms Googled and also their posts today on election day terms. It was interesting reading. 🙂

  28. Dave (Original)

    I’m pretty sure John McCain bought his votes in the same manner as Obama. (Your problem is) He just couldn’t afford as many.

  29. Whatever his policies, It is great to see a great public speaker on the way to the White House. Matt, from what I understand, you were once a fierce competitor and frequent runner-up on the semi-pro public speaking circuit. So I know how much you must appreciate Obama’s oratory skills. I agree that McCain’s concession speech was terrific, too. They both spoke too late at night, though. Know thy audience!

  30. Congrats to US of A on the election results.

    From a European perspective the voting of the democrats, or at least the non voting of the bush regime gives half of you some credibility back.

    It would be nice if some of the ideals talked about, things like a better world, a less greedy one, take from the rich and give to the poor sort of ethics actually bear fruit over time. That makes it even more of a shame the economy is in such a bad state bacause those sort of goals are well overdue and very worthy. America has been sen as the big aggressive oppressive and manipulating power of todays world. I sincerely hope that changes.

    It still beggars belief that over 45% of people still actually did still vote for Republican this time around tho and a slight worry that some fanatic or scapegoat or the next conspiracy will lead to an untimely demise of Obama tho.

    Reminds me of JFKennedy in a way altho I am overall quite ignorant of political views, my views tend to be more morally based.

    Best of luck and prosperous peaceful future to all.

  31. I thought the speeches by McCain and Obama last night were by far the best speeches they’ve done throughout the entire campaign.

  32. Sorry for offtopic, but it’s better for you to make some usability changes on your website and to change links at the bottom of your blog from:
    Next entries » · « Previous entries

    to:
    « Next entries · Previous entries »

    It is much logical, because “Previous entries” located at the right-hand side and points to the right, but “Next entries” is at the left-hand side and points to the left.

    But the best will be if you change it to:
    « Newer entries · Older entries »

    This it the best what you can do with these links. It will be much easier for your visitors and will make links more intuitive.

  33. I stayed up through the night (over here in the UK) to hear Obama and it was well worth it. A superb speech.

    Next year your president-elect faces immense pressures.The world has so many urgent problems piled up and expectations of him are huge. But he does start with a solid fund of goodwill from across much of the globe.

  34. Cormac, I don’t live in the US, so I have none of your Political problems. The fact everyone know BOTH bought their votes should cause for concern. When voting a new President comes down to the most money and marketing the candidate the best, I think it’s time to review the means-to-the-end.

    It’s great to see a black US President, but Obama is so young and extremely inexperienced. Painting oneself as a Robin Hood sounds good in theory, but putting sustainable policies into action is a whole new ball game. In fact, I bet if Obama wasn’t black, he would NOT have got half the votes. That should be a BIG worry to the US residents.

    I just don’t think he has the sage, wisdom, age and experience to lead the US in a constructive and prudent manner.

  35. San Francisco didn’t vote to legalize prostitution. Why not, is only some immoral behavior ok and not others?

  36. @dave (orginal)

    One hundred percent agree. His Marxist philosophy already failed in the old Soviet Union. Hide your wallets.

  37. Obama 08 – amazing speech, but the stockmarket crashes again?! So the worlds problems will now be solved! 🙂 Now here is a quick question, here in Australia, the new leader takes over the ship in the next week or so… But Obama has to wait until 20th Jan? What is his role until that time, does he just stay out of the way of Mr Bush!?

  38. Blake Newton, I think Obama’s speech did at least three things well. First, Obama reached out to the people that didn’t vote for him to say that he would be their president too. Next, he set expectations that the road ahead would be difficult and require sacrifice; it won’t be a breeze. And finally, he decided to get a puppy. A presidential dog will play well. You can appeal to people on the basis of reason, but it’s also good to strike a balance and appeal to emotion as well.

  39. Yep, but talk is cheap…………*especially Political talk*. He will have to walk the talk before long and I really don’t think he can.

    Speeches are just words (professional written) and OFTEN end-up as hollow promises when Politicians are making them.

    I hate racism and It’s a sad day for “democracy” when your skin color gets you votes.

  40. Matt,

    “he decided to get a puppy”

    In fact Obama needs a speedy Oz too. Just to keep Obama dynamics 🙂

  41. @Matt – I agree entirely and would add a lot more. He conveyed the sense of history brilliantly through one real person.

    @panzermike
    No US politician would attempt to turn the US into a communist state. That is indeed a failed model. What is going on is much more subtle and interesting.

    Over the 20th century we saw the struggle between two ideologies (capitalism v. communism/socialism) gradually give way to pragmatism. One country after another has groped towards a middle way that works better in practice (never mind the theory). It’s a balancing act. China and the countries of the former Soviet Block have moved towards capitalism. Most European countries are now centrist democracies of varying shades.

    The US took a giant step towards the centre with the New Deal, then retreated in smaller steps towards the pure capitalist ethos. Now it has crashed yet again through the hole that the theorists didn’t believe existed. Immediately (under a Republican president) the tone of government turned pragmatic. “We will do whatever it takes.” Now the country has voted Democrat, knowing that it will get New Deal economics.

  42. dave (original) Isn’t a warm a fuzzy feeling to know that if you didn’t vote “The One” into office how you are just stupid, racist, don’t get it, your points are responded to with bitter attacks against the other side. That is what happened here at our agency, in fact the comment that all ethical SEO’s will vote Obama is an insult. I am ethical, and I voted for my choice, they of course didn’t win. When Bush won his last election, I didn’t go around insulting all the Gore voters. Obama = Unity and Change? I don’t see it yet from the mean posts and insults (not so much here but on Twitter and other Social Sites and Blogs)

    With you on this one dave (original)

    The Other Dave

  43. Matt,

    Pls consider moderating Dave (original) remarks. Such as the following unintelligent insulting remark:

    “I hate racism and It’s a sad day for “democracy” when your skin color gets you votes.”

  44. I say that whoever wins they should not let the outsourcing industry be bottled on.

  45. Omar Yesid Mariño

    I think Obama doesn’t have many choices and he will end up implementing the Bush-McCain’s politics.

  46. I agree Matt. And I am always impressed when a great orator is able to find a balance in his or her message by using only 3 main points. It’s sometimes hard to balance a three-pointed object, you know.

  47. “decided to get a puppy” .. better news..

  48. Matt I personally like Obama a lot because he’s sharp, will surround himself with sharp folks and flexible policy making, and has an exceptional global vision for America. We should all be very proud of a system that has peacefully transferred power 44 times over many generations.

    I liked the internet and touchscreen references in his excellent speech. Hope Dr. Schmidt gets the nod for USA CTO or whatever the equivalent will be.

  49. Such as the following unintelligent insulting remark:

    Talking about “unintelligent”, if you don’t understand the statement, you are better off not remarking. All you are doing is “insulting” your own intelligence.

  50. @dave (orginal)

    You are SO right on man. God bless you sir.

  51. dave (orginal)

    I haven’t met one single racist whom doesn’t hide behind statement like yours: “I hate racism” !

    Now. If Matt wish his blog to host comments like yours, thats his choice of course.

  52. Dave rocks and Cutts is not a censor for those with differing views. Free speech rocks if it can remain civil.

  53. I do not see dave (original) as a racist but more of a realist. Do any of you really think that race played no part in this election?

    And Harith this is not a racist comment.

  54. Folks, just a reminder to be civil to each other.

  55. Harith, I can assure you, I don’t have 1 single racist bone in my body. Hell, for all YOU know I AM black. The fact YOU think I’m racist is fine by me, you are only making yourself look insecure, ignorant and silly.

    THE FACT IS: Race DID play a Major roll in this US Election. Perhaps it time to take your head out of the sand and take off your Rose colored glasses?

  56. If Matt wish his blog to host comments like yours, thats his choice of course.

    Perhaps Matt is a racist, which you seem to be implying. Or to come back to Planet Earth for a moment, he understands the statement for what it is and knows that race did play a roll in the US Elections (how can anyone NOT know?).

  57. @Dave Original:

    The tired cry of calling people a racist if they have traditional moral values should end, but alas, this type of crap is already foretold in the book of Revelations.

    Good will be accepted as evil and what was once evil and corrupt is now considered right.

  58. dave (original)

    I don’t know whether you are old enough to rememberApartheid. Your primitive remarks reminds me of that ugly system ideology. And I hate it. Also at that time there were people of all kind of color who supported that ugly system with arguments like yours.

  59. dave (orginal)

    “Perhaps Matt is a racist, which you seem to be implying.”

    Not at all.

    What I’m saying is: this is Matt own private blog and he has full control on it.

    Its Matt own choice if he wish his blog to be a place where comments preaching racism are allowed to stand.

  60. There is nothing racist in Dave the original’s comments. It is a historical event that we have elected our first african american to the highest office. We can pray that O can lead this nation without removing our freedoms and liberties which our military have fought since our founding to preserve and without altering our federal capitalist system for growth of wealth.

    At the very center of this election was not race but our nation’s core structure which must be preserved for future generations of liberty.

  61. Like I keep saying, Harith, when you do NOT understand a statement (which you clearly don’t), you should just shut-up, rather than keep making a fool of yourself.

    In essence, what you are saying is, when anyone states they are NOT a racist, they in fact are just because they said they weren’t. Now, my question is, are YOU are racist?

    Its Matt own choice if he wish his blog to be a place where comments preaching racism are allowed to stand.

    So Matt condones racism, now?

    I don’t know whether you are …..

    No, YOU “don’t know” a single THING about me, so why keep putting your foot in your mouth?

    Here are some lyrics from a song I like, Harith

    I think it’s time to quit
    when the foot can fit
    in a mouth that could swallow the World and probably did.

  62. Just wish to mention a reference:

    Uncle Tom

    And I hereby rest my case.

  63. And for the record.

    The following comment of dave (original) has been allowed to stand with no reply or action from Matt Cutts!!!

    “Or to come back to Planet Earth for a moment, he (Matt Cutts) understands the statement for what it is and knows that race did play a roll in the US Elections….”

  64. dave (original), don’t tell people to shut-up. Harith, certainly some people in this election voted based on skin color. I know several (white) people who voted for Obama at least partially because he was black and wanted to see a non-white president lead this country for a few years for a change.

    My advice to both of you is to stop replying to each other, because I honestly think you’re talking past each other right now. If you continue to zing each other back and forth, I’ll probably just delete a big bunch of your comments. I’m serious; take a breather, go do something else for a while, and if you want to debate each other, take it to a different corner of the web.

  65. One could argue that both parties played to the demographic make-up of the voting population. Certainly McCain’s choice of running mate was seen as an attempt to scoop up the female vote. This Guardian article analyses why that didn’t work.

    Since black Americans generally vote Democrat anyway, Obama mainly just mobilised more of them to vote, boosting black turnout from 11% to 13%. Despite an excitable headline in the Daily Mail, that alone would not have got him into the White House. The NY Times gives a demographic breakdown from exit polls.

  66. Thank you Matt — no matter how many times people were reminded to vote on Election Day… we always need more voices out there. If you like archived speeches, I highly recommend you check out American Rhetoric: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/

  67. dave (original), don’t tell people to shut-up

    BUT calling me a racist (repeatably) is just fine. Unbelievable, Matt.

  68. You know what’s really stupid about this entire debate? It isn’t that Obama is black and McCain is white. It isn’t even that people voted based on skin color (something that unquestionably occurred). The thing that’s really stupid is that it’s even an issue in the first place. Whatever happened to voting for the best person for the job, assuming either was a solid candidate?

    The same thing goes with voting for someone because of gender. I know for a fact that there were people who voted Republican specifically because they wanted to see a woman in power…something that would have been a strong possibility had McCain been elected. That man may not live to see the 2012 election, and if he does he may well be in a wheelchair sucking oxygen from a tank.

    If anything, this illustrates the fatal flaw in North American elections…they do not accurately represent the viewpoints and/or ideals of the population. There’s the real issue we should be talking about…how to fix the dinosauric first-past-the-post system or replace it with something more current (e.g. mixed member proportional). The whole race thing is a three-ring circus sideshow designed to distract from the deeper problem.

  69. The BIG flaw is that the best marketer with the most money wins.

    A LOT like Windows V.s Macs. Most now know that Macs are better, but M$ marketed Windows early on and a whole better than Apple.

    The BIG flaw in THIS Election, was people WANTED a black President and Obama’s speech writers cashed in on that. I bet a white Obama wouldn’t stand a chance due to his age and gross inexperience.

    Well, the US voted for change (people often believe grass is always greener on the other side and love Robin Hoods) and change they will get. Not sure they will like what is coming though 🙂

  70. Dave – I understand your feelings, believe me. From a British perspective the money spent on US elections is shocking. The cost of running for president has seemed in the past to winnow out all but staggeringly rich candidates, topped up by donations from big business or unions, with hidden strings attached.

    What I think you are missing here is that Obama’s campaign has broken the mould. He is not in the super-rich bracket. His funding has come in part from the usual Democrat backers, but much more from the general public, with the average donation around $85. He is really is the people’s choice! 🙂

    Why? Certainly not simply because he is black. His mixed-race heritage may beautifully symbolise the changing face of America, but ability is what got him into the Senate in the first place and now the White House. By all accounts he is extremely bright and driven. He is not a figurehead.

    The only reason that he has any help with speech-writing these days is shortage of time. On his way to the Senate he established a reputation as an author and orator on his own merits.

  71. Yes, most of his marketing money WAS donated. But that IS the problem. I.e the one with the richest supporters gets voted in. What made this election stand-out was the obscene amount spent and the fact that MANY voted because Obama is black.

    IMO, money, marketing, skin color etc should have zip to do with it. I would like see ALL democracies level the palying field for ALL Candidates and limit the amount they can spend. Then, if elected, they can use the remainder and the loosers can donate the rest to a charity.

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