Calm Before the Storm

There's no question that Europe, or a large part of it, is very interested in the U.S. election. But it's not the overwhelming subject of attention here that it is, I'm told, in the United States at this minute.

Riding home on the Metro this evening, I saw one person carefully reading Le Monde's coverage of the election, including stories headlined "The Ohio Heartland: An America in Agreement with the Values of McCain" and "The Success of Obama Has Relaunched the Debate About Affirmative Action".

Everyone else, though, was either paging through the French analogue to People magazine, talking on their cellphones or reading a book. In other words, just a normal evening on the subway. And in my neighborhood, where everyone's doing what they otherwise would on a warmish, clear night -- eating, drinking, and waiting in line for the show at a local comedy club.

(Incidentally, yes, the entire Paris Metro has cellphone coverage. There has been intense debate about installing it in New York, with many fearing an onslaught of obnoxious loud yakkers. In Paris that isn't a problem, because people talk very quietly when on their phones -- and anywhere else in public, for that matter. But I suppose that isn't a realistic thing to expect in New York.)

Assuming the polls are somewhere close to accurate, a definitive call on the presidential race should be possible somewhere around 4 or 5 a.m. Paris time. This will gazump the newspapers but happen in plenty of time for the morning TV or radio shows. So I'll let you know tomorrow what happened.