November 4th is Election Day in the United States. On this day, a nationwide vote will be held to elect the 56th President.
Undoubtedly, that day is Tuesday.
This is because the voting day for the American presidential election is set on the first Tuesday after November 2nd of the election year...
The reason for choosing November was based on the tradition of agricultural society—the crop harvest season had ended.
Tuesday was chosen because many voters had to travel long distances to reach the polls, and voters were reluctant to move on Sundays due to religious activities.
November 1st was avoided because it is Halloween in the United States.
The American election is not a direct election, but an electoral college system. After the national election, the candidate for president who wins the election must pass a vote of the Electoral College, which is composed of electors from each state. The candidate for president who receives the most votes in a state wins all the electoral votes in that state.
The Electoral College refers to a group of 538 electors nominated by state politicians and political party members. They are distributed across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Each state has the same number of electors as it has representatives in both houses of Congress.
California, the most populous state in the United States, has 55 electoral votes, while Alaska, a less populous state, has only three.
With very special circumstances, a candidate who wins the popular vote in a state receives all of that state's electoral votes.
On Election Day, these electors, who pledge their support for a particular candidate, are elected by popular vote.
In December following the presidential election, the elected electors vote in their state capitals for the President and Vice President.
There are 538 electors in total, and the candidate who receives 270 electoral votes is elected.
One might wonder if option A received more votes in a given week, but the electors ultimately voted for option B.
In fact, in recent American history, electors have never voted against the winner of the popular vote.
The US presidential election will be between Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Democratic candidate John McCain. George W. Bush, having already served two terms, is legally barred from running.
This election is drawing significant attention, as it marks numerous historical precedents.
For example, it marks the first time two incumbent senators have run for president...
the first time an African-American has been nominated for president by a major party...
and the first time both leading candidates were born outside the US—Okanagan was born in Hawaii, and McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone...
Since McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is a woman, the outcome for either pair will be historic—either the first Black president or the first female vice president.
It's worth noting that in American politics, the vice president holds a low profile—his official duties are to serve as president of the Senate, a largely ceremonial role, as he only votes in evenly divided Senate votes.
The Deputy President's daily work is usually based on the requirements of the President and is generally insignificant, such as representing the President at the funeral of a foreign leader. However...
according to the U.S. Constitution, if the President dies or becomes incapacitated, the Vice President assumes the office—serving as Vice President first is one path to the presidency.
Since World War II, three Vice Presidents have assumed the presidency during the presidency:
Truman following Roosevelt's death, Johnson following Kennedy's assassination, and Ford following Nixon's resignation. Even
as the U.S. presidential election was in full swing, Barron made a very low-key trip to California.
"Your Highness, Costco's stock price has fallen again by more than 25% compared to the second quarter. We have begun to acquire shares through the secondary market. At the same time, contact with institutional shareholders is still ongoing. Compared with three months ago, the attitudes of most institutions have loosened. After all, the entire American stock market is in turmoil, and cash is the most valuable thing."
Sitting in the back seat of the Bentley Mulsanne, Barron listened to Zhang Junning beside him, reporting to him the recent important news from the United States:
"Even Berkshire Hathaway, which had previously rejected us the most resolutely, changed its mind and said that it would consider selling Costco shares during the most recent contact. However, they emphasized that price is the most important factor to consider..."
There is no rush to acquire Costco for the time being. After all, this retail group will have to wait until the beginning of next year to improve, and their stock price will still reach a low point at the beginning of next year.
Therefore, unlike their initial proactive attempts to purchase Costco stock, which were met with rebuffs from Berkshire Hathaway and other institutional investors, Baron is still in contact with these institutions, but their stance has become more nuanced. In fact, due to the continued decline of the US stock market, including Costco's, more and more institutions have given up hope and are willing to sell their shares.
"Our Roadster electric sports cars are already being delivered to customers. There are some minor issues, but we will resolve them..."
At Tesla's headquarters in Silicon Valley, Baron met with the company's new CEO, Elon Musk—yes, at this time, Tesla was still headquartered in Silicon Valley and had not yet relocated to Texas.
Many people call Musk the founder of Tesla. In fact, Tesla was originally founded by Eberhard and his partner, Steve Tarpenning. Musk, who later sold PayPal, invested in Tesla and became its chairman.
Tesla's first electric car, the Roadster, was a challenging one to produce. Originally priced at $100,000, costs significantly exceeded budget, leading to repeated price increases. This was especially true given that customers who had already placed deposits for the Roadster had already placed orders, sparking customer dissatisfaction.
Starting last September, the rift between Eberhard and Musk erupted over uncontrolled costs and lengthening development cycles.
Then, in January of this year, Eberhard, the original CEO and co-founder of Tesla, was ousted from the company and replaced by Ziff Drorer.
Last month, Musk took over the CEO role, becoming chairman and CEO of Tesla.
Meanwhile, Eberhard and his partner, Tarpenning, have all left the company.
The Roadster's development and production challenges, coupled with the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, not only stymied Tesla but also made it difficult to secure financing. After all, at a time when gasoline-powered vehicles were the norm, few believed electric vehicles, especially Tesla's, could truly succeed.
In fact, Baron had already been interested in Tesla even earlier.
However, Musk had already joined Tesla and taken control of the company.
And it must be admitted that, although Musk was very active, Tesla's success was indeed largely due to his joining. Therefore, Baron did not intervene in the company too early, but instead looked for better opportunities.