I laughed when I read this yesterday:
One in six Irish workers will take tomorrow off work to follow the overnight voting in the US election, a survey claimed today.
The study by employment law firm Peninsula Ireland also found that half of all bosses are worried that more staff will call in sick.
It's no wonder that the average Dublin taxi driver knows more about U.S. politics than many American college graduates.
Do you think that one in six Americans would stay up until 4:00 in the morning to follow the election results like one of my best Irish friends? And she wasn't planning to call in sick today. We kept texting each other back and forth last night--until around 4:00a.m. Irish time, when Obama was declared the victor and named the first African-American president-elect in history.
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5 Comments
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I was in Ireland last year. We were in a pub in a small town (don't remember the name). There were two women in there and I was talking to them. They told me how much they love Americans but hated George Bush. At the time, Obama hadn't declared his candidacy, but I'm sure these two sisters must be thrilled about his victory!!!!!
AnnetteGross | November 5, 2008 2:29 PM
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Hy Brinn,
just to add something:
I personally went to bed at 2:30 a.m (Italian time) and got up at 6:00 to know the results;
a friend of mine in Rome didn't go to bed at all (after the results she went out with friends to celebrate),
and, by the way, from the site http://notizie.it.msn.com/elezioniusa_obama.aspx more than 2600 Italian people have sent a congrat message to Obama so far.
Yes, we European really like you very much, America! If someone is telling you something different, he is lying!
Ciao.
Elisabetta
Elisabetta | November 5, 2008 2:32 PM
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I'm Irish and I live in Scotland. I managed to stay up till 2:30am, when victory was looking likely, but I had to get some sleep before work. And you know, as bitter as I can be about the fact that US politics dominate the world, about the fact that Americans on the whole don't pay an equivalent amount of attention to what happens in other countries ... I have never, ever been so happy about an election result. I wept with joy when I got up this morning and I still can't believe it.
Nine | November 5, 2008 3:35 PM
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But I do like how some of this is being spun. Sarkozy and Le Figaro both congratulated Obama, but both are conservative leaders whose political goals are eventually what Bush accomplished, even though in France that'll be more difficult to accomplish. I mean, yeah, they'll congratulate him, but they don't mean it.
I'm also a bit wary of some racist Europeans, in countries that could never even dream of a leader who's not white, discussing the historical importance of this moment in terms of race. I'm willing to say that we showed Europe up on that front.
Alex Blaze | November 7, 2008 1:07 AM
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Hello Brynn,
I'm Irish and a naturalized US citizen (see how I used 'z' instead of 's' there?)living in DC.I joined in on all-nighter the Irish livebloggers were pulling and it was a great laugh altogether.It got a lot better when I joined in the fun and games at the White House.
I'll tell you this.If Obama goes to Ireland half the country will be waiting for him at the airport.The other half will be waiting for him in Moneygall.
Hangar Queen | November 7, 2008 1:49 AM
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