Embassy of the U.S. London: Ready Reference: U.S. Elections 2008

From the Democratic Convention!

Join James Greenhalgh, a Member of the Youth Parliament for Staffordshire as he blogs about his impressions from the the Democractic Convention in Denver ... jump to the blog.

07 February 2008 'Super Tuesday' Event Makes Super Night It's the question many people on both sides of the Atlantic are asking: "Super Tuesday: What Happens Next?" That was also the subject of a lively discussion that the Embassy hosted on February 7. A panel of political experts analyzed the results and implications of the February 5 Super Tuesday Democratic and Republican primary elections in the United States.

Latest News From America.gov

The Presidential Election 2008 Candidates - an eJournal of the U.S. Department of State

The Candidates
Every presidential campaign is dramatic and historic, but as the fervor surrounding the 2008 election continues to build, U.S. voters and the rest of the world will want to consider the candidates’ personal histories more closely. What sort of people rise to the top in the U.S. political system, what are their attributes, their sensibilities, and their strengths?

An eJournal of the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of International Information Programs.

02 October 2008 Record Turnout Likely for 2008 General Election A record voter turnout is expected for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, and that prediction is putting new election law reforms to the test. In 2004, 125 million people voted in the presidential election, about 88 percent of registered voters. Experts believe that turnout in 2008 will be somewhere between 125 million and 200 million voters, the highest numbers in recent memory.

29 September 2008 Economy Remains Central Issue in Presidential Race American voters' concern about the economy is a boon to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, pollsters say. Obama benefits from voters' belief that Democrats are best at domestic issues and from the fact that, when things are bad, voters punish the incumbent party.

23 September 2008 Little Difference in Democratic, Republican Mideast Policies In a presidential election in which candidates are trying to outdo each other in claiming who would bring greater change to Washington, John McCain and Barack Obama have more similarities than differences in their approaches to the Middle East. Those approaches are consistent with many policies of the Bush administration.

22 September 2008 Arab Americans Encouraging Community to Make Voice Heard As part of its Yalla ("Let’s go") Vote campaign, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is encouraging its community to engage in the political process and make its voice heard. Many in the community are doing just that, saying that, like other Americans, their top concern in the 2008 election is the economy.

11 September 2008 Next President Could Shape U.S. Judiciary More than Predecessors An elected official's power to make judicial appointments, especially to the Supreme Court of the United States, is a factor many U.S. voters consider when they go to the polls. The next president of the United States likely will make one or more appointments for life to the bench of the Supreme Court, the highest level of the third co-equal branch of government (with the executive branch and the legislative branch). Supreme Court decisions are the final authority on contentious issues, whether mundane or revolutionary.

10 September 2008 Presidential Race Statistical Tie in Swing State Florida With less than two months left in the U.S. election campaign, at least one Florida poll shows Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama in a statistical tie.

08 September 2008 With Conventions Concluded, U.S. General Election Campaign Begins With the national political party conventions behind them, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are focusing their efforts on winning undecided voters in battleground states. Although presidential nominating contests concluded in June, Republican McCain and Democrat Obama did not become their parties' official nominees until the national conventions. The conclusion of the Republican convention September 4 marked the beginning of the general election campaign.

05 September 2008 Across the Atlantic, Some Surprising Similarities Transatlantic classrooms provide special opportunities to learn. British students are sometimes a little startled to hear that legislators in the United States often run in election campaigns where the personal agendas of the candidates overshadow centralized party political messages.

04 September 2008 Republicans Nominate John McCain for President At the Republican National Convention September 3, delegates formally nominated Arizona Senator John McCain to be their candidate for the presidency of the United States.

02 September 2008 Republican Party Quietly Opens National Convention With little fanfare, the Republican National Convention opened September 1 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Political speeches, a trademark of the modern convention, were called off as Americans turned their attention to a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast.

02 September 2008 Broad Appeal, National Stature The U.S. presidential election system was established by the country’s Founding Fathers more than 220 years ago. This system has not only withstood the test of time, but has also shaped U.S. politics throughout history. Many Americans do not understand every nuance about their presidential selection system, and particularly about what is known as the Electoral College, which determines which individuals become their country’s president and vice president.

29 August 2008 Hurricane Gustav Stalls Republican Convention Republican candidate John McCain, saying this is not a time to talk partisan politics, urges delegates to focus instead on the potential natural disaster on America’s Gulf Coast. Party officials plan to conduct official business on September 1, but cancel speeches and entertainment.

29 August 2008 John McCain Chooses Alaska Governor as Running Mate Republican presidential candidate John McCain has chosen Sarah Palin, currently the governor of Alaska, as his running mate. Palin, who would be the first woman to run on a Republican presidential ticket, also would be the first Alaskan to appear on a national ballot. In 2006 she became the first female governor of Alaska after serving six years as mayor of Wasilla City, Alaska.

28 August 2008 Democrats Formally Nominate Barack Obama for U.S. Presidency Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, with the help of Hillary Clinton, on August 27 formally nominated Barack Obama to be the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party.

27 August 2008 Democrats Stress Barack Obama's Willingness to Work with Allies Party leaders and campaign surrogates for presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama stress the candidate's multilateral approach to foreign policy, saying that the Illinois senator would improve America’s image in the world.

27 August 2008 Debate Continues over Security, Reliability of Voting Technology Even in a nation that has held elections for more than 232 years, advances in voting technology spark debates about the best designs for ballots and the most reliable, secure ways to collect and count votes.

26 August 2008 U.S. Election Helping America's Image Worldwide The U.S. presidential race, with "the spectacle of democracy at work," is a great thing for America's image worldwide, and historically has given a boost to U.S. public diplomacy, Nicholas Cull, a professor of public diplomacy, tells America.gov.

25 August 2008 New U.S. President Unlikely to Alter U.S. Policy Toward Europe Although Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain differ significantly on such national security issues as Iraq, the two presidential candidates’ positions on Europe fall within the broad consensus that historically has marked U.S. policy in the region. Their differences lie in nuance and points of emphasis.

25 August 2008 Barack Obama Selects Delaware Senator Joe Biden as Running Mate Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate, saying, “Joe won't just make a good vice president -- he will make a great one.”

19 August 2008 Obama, McCain Compete in Wooing Hispanic Voters Hispanics, a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, could play a deciding role in a close presidential election, and campaigns are making enormous efforts to attract those potential voters and turn them out on Election Day. Efforts range from speeches delivered before major Hispanic organizations, to creation of new Spanish-language campaign Web sites, to huge budgets for advertising -- mainly television spots -- aimed at Hispanic voters.

13 August 2008 Experts Ponder Why U.S. Presidential Contest Remains Tight Several factors explain why the 2008 U.S. campaign for president remains close, political experts tell America.gov. Conventional wisdom says Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee, should be running well ahead of John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, because of polls showing Democrats in general far ahead of Republicans nationally and because Republican President George Bush has low favorability ratings with the American electorate.

12 August 2008 Environmental Concerns Climb Higher on Political Issues List Environmental advocacy has a long history in the United States, but recently, advocacy groups have gained more political influence as the effects of global warming are acknowledged. The groups actively support or oppose political candidates after assessing their environmental credentials.

07 August 2008 Journalist Daniel Schorr Says Youth Vote Key to 2008 Election Record-breaking voter registration by young people will be "one of the big stories" of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, famed journalist Daniel Schorr tells America.gov. The senior news analyst and commentator for National Public Radio said the youth vote could decide the election. Polls suggest a majority of young Americans support presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama over presumed Republican nominee John McCain.

05 August 2008 2008 Presidential Race Shatters Old Barriers for Candidates In 2008, U.S. politics is moving beyond the influence of the Cold War and Vietnam War eras, analysts say, adding that this shift and the expected nomination of an African American to the presidency makes the upcoming election different from previous presidential campaigns.

01 August 2008 United States at "Turning Point" as Voters Go to Polls November 4 The 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign will reflect dramatic changes in American society, political analysts tell America.gov. Iowa State University political science professor Steffen Schmidt said the 2008 vote will be a "watershed, seriously important election."

24 July 2008 Surrogates' Off-Message Remarks Can Hurt Presidential Candidates Ill-chosen comments by surrogates for 2008 presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have rocked both campaigns, political experts tell America.gov. Remarks that conflict with or distract from the message candidates are trying to send voters are a recurring feature of the 2008 presidential race.

17 July 2008 Presidential Candidates’ Foreign Policy Advisers a Diverse Group Foreign scholars, journalists and government officials closely monitor the latest foreign policy pronouncements of American presidential candidates, but they also pay close attention to the candidates’ foreign policy advisers, who can influence strongly the course of a new presidency.

17 July 2008 John McCain, Barack Obama Debate War Policies As they campaigned in battleground states and reached out to minority voters, the presidential candidates seemed eager to prove they are prepared to deal with the lagging economy and ready to handle challenging security issues as commander in chief.

10 July 2008 Internet Revolutionizes Campaign Fundraising Electioneering changed in the 2004 presidential campaign when Democratic contender Howard Dean used the Internet as his staging ground and the public responded by donating time and money. Four years later, Internet fundraising has leapt ahead, with prospective Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama enjoying particular success thanks to Web 2.0 interactive and social networking tools that enhance online community participation.

30 June 2008 Race Relations a Factor in 2008 Presidential Election Race relations will be a factor in the 2008 presidential election between presumed Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his presumed Republican opponent, John McCain, several political experts tell America.gov.

27 June 2008 Many Political Parties Shape U.S. Political Agenda On the surface, there does not seem to be much in common among a teetotaler, a socialist, a reformer, an environmentalist and a bull moose. But in the U.S. political arena, they symbolize a wide range of past and present "Third Party" organizations, and have influenced U.S. presidential elections.

04 June 2008 Presidential Campaign Enters New Phase as Primaries End As the final Democratic primary voters cast ballots in South Dakota and Montana June 3, Illinois Senator Barack Obama told his supporters that, "because of you," he expects to become the first African-American presidential nominee of a major political party.

02 June 2008 The Path to the 2008 Presidential Nomination After hours of debate in a Washington hotel May 31, members of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC’s) bylaws and rules committee approved a plan to give Michigan and Florida’s delegates -- both pledged and unpledged -- half a vote each. There are now 4,234 delegate votes available, with a majority of 2,118 needed to earn the nomination, as opposed to the previous 2,026.

29 May 2008 Third Party and Independent Candidates (The following article is taken from the U.S. Department of State publication, Outline of American History.) The United States is often thought of as functioning under a two-party system. In practical effect this is true: Either a Democrat or a Republican has occupied the White House every year since 1852. At the same time, however, the country has produced a plethora of third and minor parties over the years. For example, 58 parties were represented on at least one state ballot during the 1992 presidential elections. Among these were obscure parties such as the Apathy, the Looking Back, the New Mexico Prohibition, the Tish Independent Citizens, and the Vermont Taxpayers.

21 May 2008 Barack Obama Says Democratic Nomination "Within Reach" Illinois Senator Barack Obama earned a majority of pledged delegates May 20, but this still leaves him about 370 delegates shy of securing the Democratic nomination.

08 May 2008 The Path to the 2008 Presidential Nomination Arizona Senator John McCain has earned the 1,191 pledged delegates he needs to be the Republican Party's presidential nominee, but the race to amass a majority of delegates in the Democratic contest continues. McCain will not become the official Republican Party nominee until his party's delegates cast their votes at the Republican National Convention in September.

07 May 2008 Big Win in North Carolina Expands Obama's Lead Primary voters in Indiana and North Carolina put Democrat Barack Obama closer to his party’s presidential nomination, despite a loss in the May 6 Indiana primary. With few nominating contests left and Obama's lead growing, political experts predict it will be difficult for Hillary Clinton to earn the nomination.

23 April 2008 Clinton's Pennsylvania Win Extends Democrats' Nomination Race After spending more than six weeks crisscrossing Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each claimed success in the state’s Democratic primary April 22. New York Senator Hillary Clinton won the most votes and a majority of Pennsylvania’s 158 pledged delegates, but she still trails Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the overall delegate count.

21 April 2008 Public Financing Helps Fuel U.S. Presidential Campaigns When Americans file their annual income tax returns, they find this note near the top of the form: "Presidential Election Campaign: Check here if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, want $3 to go to this fund." Even though $3 is a small amount, the public financing system it supports could provide each of the presidential nominees with about $84 million in campaign funds.

14 April 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination Race Seen Ending by July 4 The race for the Democratic presidential nomination will probably end in June and certainly by America’s Independence Day on July 4, political analyst Larry Sabato tells America.gov.

14 April 2008 National Conventions Going Green Although the 2008 Republican and Democratic national conventions are still months away, preparations to make them environmentally friendly are well under way.

11 April 2008 Campaigns for National Offices Often Rely on Outside Expertise As Election Day approaches, U.S campaign organizations shift into high gear. Although most of the thousands of contested posts are in local government and lack full-time campaign staffs, larger campaigns have a number of paid staff positions and big budgets for advertising.

07 April 2008 Congressional Elections Elections for the U.S. Congress can be as competitive and important as those for president. This is because of the central role that Congress plays in making laws. Unlike a parliamentary system where the chief executive comes from the parliament, the American system, as noted, separates the legislature and the presidency. Presidents and legislators are elected separately. Although a sitting president may propose laws to Congress, they have to be drafted in Congress by his allies within that institution, and must be passed by the Congress before being sent back to the president for his signature.

03 April 2008 “527” Committees Spend Millions on Political Discourse No, "527" isn't the winning lottery number of the day -- though it might seem that way to some politicians. The number refers to a section of the U.S. Tax Code that governs a controversial method of financing political campaigns. It covers a category of tax-exempt political committees that avoid the limits on campaign financing imposed by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001 by steering clear of directly supporting or opposing candidates for office.

28 March 2008 Debate Continues About Presidential Candidate’s Speech on Race Barack Obama has sparked debate ever since he declared himself a Democratic candidate for U.S. president. But his speech on race in America started a significant conversation among television pundits, op-ed writers, bloggers and average Americans that shows no sign of ending.

24 March 2008 Delegate System Aims to Give Nominating Power to the People U.S. voters may cast ballots for a presidential nominee in a primary or caucus, but they do not select their parties’ nominees directly. That power is given to delegates -- appointed party representatives -- who cast votes at the national conventions held in the summer before the general election. The system of appointing delegates to select party nominees is complex and has been revised over decades to ensure fairness.

05 March 2008 John McCain Wins Enough Delegates To Become Republican Nominee After Americans in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont voted in primaries March 4, Arizona Senator John McCain earned enough delegates to become the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

03 March 2008 NAFTA Under Attack from Presidential Candidates The world's largest trading partnership is drawing considerable criticism from the two remaining Democratic presidential candidates, and President Bush, who has shied away from public involvement in the 2008 presidential campaign, recently weighed in on the debate.

20 February 2008 Texas Enjoys Unexpected Attention in Presidential Primary Battle San Antonio -- Voters in southwest Texas’s 23rd Congressional District are enjoying national attention as the "Lone Star State" suddenly has become relevant to this year’s presidential candidates. In most presidential election years, the major parties’ nominees are decided in other states, before Texans have the opportunity to vote. This year will be the first time since 1968 that the Texas primary, on March 4, plays a role in determining the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

20 February 2008 Turnout Mounts in U.S. Presidential Primaries Conventional wisdom holds that presidential primaries and caucuses attract voters with high political motivation. Frequently, they are party activists or agenda-driven voters who stand on the left or right of the political spectrum. Not so in 2008. Voting turnout records are being broken in most states. States report that more people have registered to vote. Precincts have run out of ballots because of the unexpected rush. And the voters represent a broader constituency than usual.

13 February 2008 Barack Obama Sweeps Recent Presidential Primaries and Caucuses After a week of winning every Democratic nominating contest across the country, Illinois Senator Barack Obama now has a slight lead in delegates in the close Democratic presidential nominee race.

01 February 2008 Presidential Candidates Gear Up for Toughest Challenge Yet ... Nearly 80 million registered voters will have the opportunity to cast their vote for a presidential nominee on February 5 -- the most ever on a single day in the history of primaries and caucuses.

31 January 2008 With Super Tuesday Nearing, Candidates Court New Mexico Voters During the 2004 presidential primary, New Mexico was bustling with activity as Democrats competed in the state's nomination contest. But in the 2008 race, the political scene has been quiet – until now. Assuming the state would nominate its "favorite son," Governor Bill Richardson, other Democratic candidates opted to spend little time or money campaigning in New Mexico. When Richardson dropped out January 10, the door to New Mexico’s delegates was suddenly open.

30 January 2008 Pollster Discusses How Independent Voters Affect U.S. Politics Pollster John Zogby is president and chief executive officer of Zogby International, a worldwide research and marketing firm based in Utica, New York, and doing business in more than 70 countries. In the presidential races of 1996, 2000 and 2004, Zogby correctly identified the winners -- something no other major American pollster was able to do. Much of Zogby's polling is conducted using live telephone operators, but over the past decade he has developed an interactive polling methodology that has become extraordinarily accurate.

29 January 2008 Prospect of Dynasties Not Swaying U.S. 2008 Presidential Vote American voters seen unconcerned by the prospect of "political dynasties" maintaining their hold on the White House, several political analysts and pollsters tell America.gov. Juan Williams, senior correspondent for National Public Radio, says public opinion polls show that "voters don't really care very much" that, since 1989, either a Clinton or a Bush has been the nation's chief executive. If Hillary Clinton wins the 2008 presidential election and serves a four-year term ending in January 2013, the U.S. government will have been headed by members of just two families for 24 years.

29 January 2008 The New Evangelical Agenda Evangelical Christians remain politically conservative, but many are ranking civil society issues higher than the issues that topped their agenda in the 2004 elections, according to a poll conducted by Beliefnet. The Web site, an independent publication about spirituality and world religions, polled 980 self-described evangelical Christians about the political issues that most concern them. Stereotypes were shattered when 85 percent placed the economy and cleaning up corruption in government at the top of their lists, closely followed by reducing poverty. Some 78 percent wanted improved public education and health care, 68 percent were against torture. Approximately 68 percent wanted to end the Iraq war, while 46 percent wanted to win the war.

22 January 2008 Republican Convention Delegates To Experience Two Cities When the Republican Party gathers in Minnesota's "Twin Cities" metropolitan area September 1-4 for its 39th presidential nominating convention, delegates will have the opportunity to experience both of the state's two largest cities.

18 January 2008 Barack Obama’s U.S. Presidential Bid Bridges Racial Divisions The candidacy of Barack Obama for U.S. president is galvanizing the American people, several students of the U.S. political scene tell America.gov. With his stirring oratory sparking "Obamamania," the Illinois Democratic senator connects to people of all different racial and ethnic backgrounds, said William Jelani Cobb, associate professor of history at Spelman College in Georgia.

16 January 2008 Local and National Issues Vie for Oregon Voters' Attention A late speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill, once said, "All politics is local," implying that Americans vote for congressional representatives based on local concerns rather than national issues. Politics in the United States is decentralized and political parties generally are unable to impose a uniform agenda on the country’s diverse voting districts.

16 January 2008 Minnesota Voters Focused on Immigration, Iraq The war in Iraq and immigration top the list of issues expected to influence voters of Minnesota's 1st Congressional District heading into November’s presidential and congressional elections, according to a former district congressman.

09 January 2008 Hillary Clinton, John McCain Score Victories in New Hampshire New Hampshire voters showed up in record numbers and surprised many by casting their ballots for Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary January 8. Despite nearly every poll predicting a Clinton loss and media reports of her campaign staff in disarray, the New York senator won the Democratic presidential primary by about two percentage points over Illinois Senator Barack

07 January 2008 Presidential Candidates Make Their Case to New Hampshire Voters With the Iowa caucuses behind them, most of the presidential candidates are now in New Hampshire appealing to voters before the state’s primary on January 8. December's record-setting snowfall did not keep campaign volunteers from covering street corners with signs large and small encouraging New Hampshire residents to vote for their candidates.

04 January 2008 Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama Win First 2008 Election Races Nearly a year after the 2008 U.S. presidential race began, Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama are the first campaign victors after winning the Iowa caucuses January 3.

20 December 2007 Voters, Candidates Shifting Their Attention to Economic Issues President Bill Clinton's staffers used this popular slogan in his 1992 campaign against George H. W. Bush to indicate that, with the country deep in a recession, the economy was at the top of voters' minds. Today, there is growing indication that when Americans are asked about their top concern, again it's the economy, stupid.

18 December 2007 Major Parties Work To Recruit Winning Candidates for Congress Not everyone, it seems, is eager to be a congressman. Campaign committees for both major political parties spend substantial time and effort recruiting the best potential candidates for key election districts around the country. Their drive to recruit winning candidates comes against the background of a 2006 congressional election in which Democrats took over 30 previously Republican seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, moving into majority status after 12 years of Republican control.

18 December 2007 Decades of Stability and Waves of Change Shape Oregon District American congressional districts come in all sizes and shapes. While each of the 50 states gets two at-large senators, House of Representatives’ districts are apportioned by population. The geographically smallest district covers only a few square blocks of Harlem in New York City. The largest covers the entire state of Alaska, which, despite its enormous size (nearly as large as Iran), has so few inhabitants that it is entitled to only one representative.

17 December 2007 New Primary Schedule Brings New Challenges for Candidates With the presidential election primary season beginning -- and possibly ending -- earlier than ever before, candidates face many new challenges, political experts say. Iowa and New Hampshire have state laws saying they must hold their nominating contests first. While past elections saw these events at the end of January or in February, Iowa will hold its caucus for the 2008 elections on January 3, and New Hampshire will have its primary on January 8. The two states kept moving their caucus and primary dates earlier to protect their first-in-the-nation status.

12 December 2007 Presidential Campaigns Focus Efforts on Early Primary States With the first primaries and caucuses in the 2008 presidential race right around the corner, the candidates are focusing on states that hold the earliest contests.

06 December 2007 Young Americans Paying Close Attention to Presidential Race Young Americans are paying attention to the 2008 presidential race, and many are ready to help their preferred candidate achieve victory, a poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP) shows.

05 December 2007 Democrats Prepare for 2008 Presidential Campaign Barely a month before important state party caucuses begin in the new year, Democrats from around the country converged near Washington for the Democratic National Committee fall general session. This was the last such meeting of Democrats before early caucuses signal who the likely Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential nominees will be.

03 December 2007 Americans' Political Divisions Not Necessarily Bad, Experts Say Although Americans feel politically divided today, this polarization is not necessarily a bad thing, political experts say. Today, the division among Americans is often depicted in the colors red and blue. American history has shown that there are periods of polarization and periods of consensus in the political landscape. This current era of polarization is seen by many as beginning in the years following the end of the Cold War.

13 November 2007 Pollsters Take the Political Pulse of American Voters In 1936, when public opinion polls were in their infancy, the prestigious Literary Digest conducted an ambitious survey using phone books and automobile registrations. Their conclusion: Republican Alf Landon handily would defeat incumbent President Franklin Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, of course, won in a landslide.

08 November 2007 Front-Running Presidential Candidates Face High Expectations Front-runners in the race for U.S. president face a paradox: the advantage in leading their competitors might also be a disadvantage. As Republican consultant Craig Shirley told USINFO, the inherent danger for presidential front-runners is that the "higher up the flagpole the candidate gets, the more people can see your backside."

30 October 2007 Arab Americans Serve as Bridge Between United States, Mideast The presidential candidates who showed up at the Arab American Institute's (AAI) National Leadership Conference found an audience more interested in discussion than speeches. Arab-American voters are not interested in just hearing from the candidates, Rebecca Abou-Chedid, AAI's national political director told USINFO, "We want to talk to them, too."

29 October 2007 Arab Americans Learn Importance of Political Involvement Hundreds of Arab Americans from across the United States gathered in a city with one of the largest concentrations of Arabs in the country to learn how they can make an impact in the 2008 U.S. elections.

26 October 2007 American College Students Embracing U.S. Political Process New York University’s (NYU’s) Washington Square Park address meant that when senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke in the park September 27, hundreds of NYU students were among the 24,000 supporters and curious onlookers.

25 October 2007 Long-Shot Presidential Candidates Still Can Have Major Impact “I would rather be right than president,” the 19th-century American statesman Henry Clay once said, and many candidates lagging behind the leaders in the 2008 presidential race may take consolation in his words as they contemplate their situation.

18 October 2007 For Some Americans, “Voter Fatigue” Already Has Set In Months before the first presidential primary and more than a year before the general election, a majority of likely American voters already are weary of the current campaign, according to a September poll. This trend, coupled with declining voter participation since the 1970s, prompted some observers to investigate and suggest remedies.

16 October 2007 Wealthy Candidates Abound as Presidential Campaign Costs Zoom Chances are strong that the next U.S. president will be a millionaire. Access to funding has assumed tremendous importance in this era of almost nonstop election campaigns and huge advertising expenses. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent in the current presidential campaign cycle.

11 October 2007 Hispanic Americans’ Political Clout Expected To Increase U.S. Census records indicate the 44-million-member Hispanic community is the fastest growing minority group in the U.S., accounting for as much as half of the total population growth. However, because Hispanics account for only 10 percent of new U.S. voters, their growing numbers are not translating into political influence yet, says researcher Richard Fry.

04 October 2007 U.S. Presidential Hopefuls Release Campaign Finance Data At the end of each quarter of the calendar year, U.S. presidential candidates must reveal how much money they have raised to fund their campaigns. The monies pay for such expenses as campaign travel, office space, television and radio advertising, telephone service and printing literature.

26 September 2007 Presidential Campaigns Take to the Internet Previously, the best way for the average American citizen to get involved in a presidential campaign was volunteering to distribute flyers or to organize local campaign events. But today, thousands of Americans are getting involved in the 2008 campaign by logging onto the Internet and writing blogs.

17 September 2007 Early Primaries and Caucuses Shape Presidential Hopefuls' Odds State primary elections and caucuses held early in the race to determine the Republican and Democratic candidates for president of the United States give an indication of how candidates will do throughout the campaign season.

10 September 2007 House, Senate Campaign Committees Set Strategies for 2008 Party campaign committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives are gearing up for pivotal congressional elections that will accompany the presidential contest in November 2008.

06 September 2007 Candidates’ Rhetoric Can Fail To Translate into Official Policy It’s a long and winding road from a presidential candidate’s campaign rhetoric to actual implementation of government policy. And, often, the road comes to a dead end by the time the campaign season is over.

06 September 2007 Campaign Statements on Foreign Policy Should Be Taken Seriously Early in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, foreign policy already is an important topic of discussion as candidates set out their presidential agendas and outline ideas for improving the country’s global image while maintaining its leadership position and national security.

05 September 2007 American Voters Increasingly Motivated by Foreign Policy U.S. foreign policy is on the minds of enough American voters that a candidate’s positions on how he or she would work with the international community can be the deciding factor in an election. The growing importance of foreign policy issues also comes at a time when the American electorate is the most polarized in recent history on how to interact with the world.

05 September 2007 Long Odds Face Any Independent Running for U.S. President Could an independent candidate not affiliated with a major American political party make history and win the 2008 election for president of the United States? Two noted political operatives unaffiliated with any candidate in the 2008 race offered USINFO varying opinions on what to expect in the next presidential election.

04 September 2007 U.S. Political Parties Enjoy Rich History When most people around the world think of elephants and donkeys, they simply picture jungle and farm animals. In the U.S., however, these two beasts of burden bring to mind the country’s two major political parties. Since the middle of the 19th century, the elephant has been the symbol of the Republican Party, President Bush’s party, which also is known as the GOP (Grand Old Party). The donkey symbolizes the Democratic Party, which currently is the majority party in the U.S. Congress.

29 August 2007 YouTube Redefines Terms of Presidential Debates Thanks to the Internet, the tide may be turning for young American voters who feel they have no say in politics. YouTube, the "broadcast yourself" cyberspace phenomenon that allows anyone with a digital camera to post videos on the Internet for free, offered an unprecedented political platform in July: Democratic candidates were grilled by ordinary Americans via video questions.

27 August 2007 Term Limits Help Prevent Dictatorships Even as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seeks to change Venezuelan law that, in effect, could make him that country’s "president for life," a similar scenario for a U.S. president is regarded as highly unlikely. The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits an American president from serving more than two full four-year terms in office.

20 August 2007 Presidential Campaign Pageantry Begins in Iowa Politics come to Iowa in a big way each summer before an American presidential election year. The show begins with the Ames Straw Poll, a fundraising event that gathers Republican presidential hopefuls at the University of Iowa Ames campus.

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