My thoughts from way up north:

– Obama is the charismatic personality needed for the United States at this moment
– Obama wouldn’t have had a chance to be in this position if the US weren’t in such economic, military, and social trouble (because ideas and change never seem to appeal unless the situation is desperate)
– McCain celebrated his 72nd birthday yesterday, so should he manage to win the election, there’s a real chance he’ll die of natural causes before his first term is up
– McCain and Palin look like a father daughter combo – 28 years separate them, so indeed it’s realistic too
– Palin, while a smart move to attract female swing voters, is a poor choice because Alaska has very little influence in terms of College votes – would have been better to go with someone from a swing state
– The Democratic National Convention was a very successful communications exercise and the majority of the speeches were effective and entertaining
– My favorite DNC speech, aside from Obama, was John Kerry
– Obama, I think, has clear and decisive arguments and a squeeky clean image, neither of which do I think the Repubs can counter
– I will not be surprised whatsoever if McCain still manages to win the election, based on American voting history (particularly recently) and the trend amongst American voters to elect the lowest common denominator (afraid of change, fearmongering, the big, Republican marketing machine)
– If Obama wins, I think it will usher in a very, very exciting time for America, it’s allies and trading partners (including Canada) and the world in general