I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I’ve been running ever since

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh, yes it is

It’s been too hard living
But I’m afraid to die
I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh, yes it will

Then I go to my brother
I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

There’s been times that I thought
I wouldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come
Oh, yes it will

– Sam Cooke, A Change is Gonna Come

Thank you to all my friends in the USA, at both ends of the political spectrum… and thank you to Barack Obama and everyone who participated in this historic campaign. It’s a giant first leap to renew America’s image throughout the world, and there are so many of us who couldn’t be more excited that you’re back on track.

The idea of America is amazing. That a country and people of such breadth and depth hangs together as a democracy is incredible. It has been so disappointing to see that idea dragged through the mud for the last eight years, but tonight was wonderful and uplifting.

… and hopeful. There, I said it.

More than ever, the USA needs an inspiring leader, so I don’t want to see Obama locked away from the people, forever stuck behind bulletproof glass podiums and the windows of heavily-armoured cars.

At least there’s one very tiny sliver of silver lining, if I may smother my concern with humour for a moment: We can call his car the Hopemobile.

In fact, that’s precisely what returning a Republican to the White House will be after eight years of cronyism, incompetence and mismanagement: A Road to Nowhere.

But hey — at least they have a bridge to sell you!

In order to facilitate a more active discussion with candidates for the Linux Australia committee than we’ve had in previous years, I’m gathering questions from the community in order to pose them in one email. This helps to reduce the chaos on the mailing list, puts a concise set of questions to candidates, and results in a clear place to read answers from them.

Closer to the election date, the anonymised questions will be posted for candidates to respond to, and for the community to discuss. I will get some other Linux Australia members, who are not running for election, to participate in the selection of questions.

Please post your questions in the comments, or mail them to me if you’re not comfortable asking in public.

Vision is rejected, the peoples choice is tested
So ignorance has won
Children are infected, remedy suggested
Dont drink from poison cup
Overpopulation, media sensations
The damage has been done

We’re having what we’ve called an “election party/wake” next Saturday, but if the consistency of the polls over the last twelve months (and more recently) is anything to go by, there’ll be more chardonnay than tears at the Waugh household.

Here are some of the most popular adjectives used to describe what John Howard and the Liberal Party are facing on Saturday, linked to the search results that mention them (check my guide to Australian politics for Americans if you’re wondering why we’re toasting a “Liberal” defeat).

• election
• electoral
• Bennelong
• potential
• overwhelming
• humiliating
• likely
• crushing
• inevitable
• massive
• worst
• landslide
• severe
• impending
• near-certain
• certain
• emphatic
• staggering

Regardless of all the polls, betting odds, embarrassing campaign screw-ups, flagging morale of conservative opinion writers and radio jocks, or nerdy enthusiasm of the progressive number-crunchers: Labor still has a fight on its hands.

It’s the last week of the campaign — when anything can happen — and the electoral statistics are no better now than when they were described as “impossible” six months ago.

Maybe I’ll wear black shoes, just in case.