Bad, bad idea. And offensive to boot.

I am a Greek who lived in the Uk for 16 years, albeit in three "periods" with significant gaps in between. My wife is English, and she and both my children hold dual nationality. I never bothered, as I don't need it to work and live here and until a year ago I did not see the UK as my permanent residence anyway.

Now I am set to live here possibly for the rest of my life, for the first time I am considering taking on the nationality and voting. Until now (and despite the fact that I could very easily have obtained British nationality many years ago) I did not feel that I had the moral right to vote in the elections of my host country.

Just personal (over?-)sensitivity, that's all. But I find any attempt to influence the vote in a country where I don't live, and have no plans to live in, despicable to say the least. Never mind that the US election will undoubtedly affect the world - we are talking SOVEREIGNTY here folks. True sovereignty, not the mish-mash kind about whether to have the pound or the Euro, but the real thing. Even contemplating it I find abhorrent.

That the Guardian should so dirty itself I find sad. This is not true leftism, with ideals behind it, but "fashionable" one. Shame!

I wish and hope dearly that Bush doesn't get returned, though I can't say that I hold that much hope for the world with the US under Kerry either. Still, he might be the lesser of two evils and worth supporting if we believe half his proclamations. But not this way - never!