We're 24 hours to go before the end of voting in the United States. By most accounts, 97.2% of people have made up their mind already of who to vote for. A dozen national polls are released daily, and they all show Obama with a lead of anywhere from 5-12%. None of them show a lead for McCain, and haven't for a month.

But the national percentage is actually irrelevant in this race, but that is what everyone focuses on. Americans use a system called Electoral College that assigns votes based on the size of a state. So by that measure, the most probable scenario from fivethirtyeight.com has Obama winning 311 electoral votes to McCain's 227. Obama wins the election 96.3% of the time.

If you asked Americans who they "think" will win, regardless of who they vote for, the majority will say Obama will win. Let's say 99% of Obama supporters think Obama will win and 60% of McCain supporters think Obama will win. That's like 80% of the U.S. population that thinks Obama will win. The media has been largely assuming Obama will win. Other Republican Senators running for reelection are also assuming an Obama Presidency. And if you asked that question outside the United States, in Canada or Europe, closer to 90% of people will say they think Obama will win. Most people think that it won't even be close.

So what if, tomorrow night, the 3.7% happens? What is McCain wins?

Would that mean the U.S. election system is broken? Would it mean the Republicans stole yet another election through legal shenanigans? Will foreign countries with budding democracies (such as Iraq and Afghanistan), or formerly corrupt third-world countries (such as the Philippines) think the U.S. is no longer the standard-bearer for how elections are run? How can these guys come HERE and tell us how to run things when the will of the people was clearly violated?

I mean, every single poll for a month has shown Obama ahead. There is a possibility McCain can win, but what happens if he does?

It will be interesting.