LA International Airport, Mon 26 Oct 08:

Three hours in-transit dead time in LAX delivers Californian Consciousness in the raw, or perhaps I should say more like a refried mess of beans (to evoke LA’s Humphrey Bogart in another airporty scene). This comprehensively dreary and dilapidated space is a melting pot turned down to a long, low effective simmer. The resulting stew of mostly Hispanic, Asian and black service staff and utterly mixed passenger population exposes the Australian eye to strange energies. (The Americans aren’t into sotto voce. A white garbed Hispanic cook sprawled on a bench shouts, “Hey Hugo, wassup?!” into his mobile/cellphone.)  It is California’s relatively benign collation — if not post-race, at least race familiar –  which will deliver a massive 55 electoral votes to Obama on counting day. (But which could well doom gay marriage in the state.) The patterns are changing: a remarkable 40% of California’s registered voters have already decided they will vote early by mail. Perhaps, after 18 months of escalating continuous campaigning, the people simply can’t bear it any longer.

And alas, the AUD is worth all of US60.7c today.