The machinery of an anxious democracy (BBV)

[TrogL]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3666898.stm

For the first time, representatives from the OSCE - the European body which has traditionally monitored elections in fledgling democracies - will observe as Americans elect their president.

There have certainly been objections to the involvement of foreign monitors in the domestic affairs of a country which sees itself as a beacon of democracy.

But the Florida fiasco of 2000 with its hanging chads and voter purges has shaken confidence in the sanctity of the system, producing in the words of one observer, a climate of "unease, distrust and scepticism".

Excellent article that covers the issues well.

Americans should hang their heads in shame that it's come to this.