"history" as brought to you by the bbc

the bbc is our only english news channel.. which is fine, considering my disdain for network news and the knowledge that if i had been in the states, i probably would've watched live election coverage with jon stewart. but the bbc has been covering the elections with an obvious "outside looking in" style, making for several awkwardly enjoyable moments.

wednesday morning (tues night in the US) was no different. they did their best to emulate american networks with a fancy map and a bunch of half-crazed pundits, and the whole thing made for a nice glimpse on how europe and (considering that the bbc is the most powerful international news source anywhere on the globe) the world were watching this thing.

some highlights:

-- jesse jackson (mr."i want to cut obama's n--- off" himself) comes on looking positively giddy. guess it's going to be a big night (morning) for black ameria.

-- the well-meaning anchor suddenly sounds very very british:

• "and minnesota the wonderful state of.. um.. lakes... and beautiful forests... goes for obama."
  

• "and now wisconsin, known for.... um.. dairy.. also goes to the senator from illinois."

• "north dakota, home of mount rushmore i believe.... no i'm sorry that's south.. north is home to.. well anyway it's home to mccain voters."

-- john bolton appears. somehow the bbc found the most internationally unpopular bush appointee ever. bolton, who im sure is a smart man, is decent on tv and starts off with several salient points about what mccan did wrong.

he then calls obama "the most radical candidate ever nominated" and repeats "fact"-less smears about obama's supposed socialism (mccain is also a wealth-spreader) and obama's coal bankrupting (mccain's cap and trade plan is nearly identical), before getting in a pair of arguments with liberal media biased BBC reporters about their "facts." nice guy:



-- mark penn, aka the man who wrecked the most powerful political machine in modern times, aka hillary's old chief strategist, somehow finds a spot at the table. he seems sheepish.

-- and then this.. the greatest political interview in modern times with a (drunk? liberally bitter?) gore vidal. watch till the end: