The presidential candidates wish you a Happy Holidays. Rough days for some of the candidates. Fun facts about the presidential candidates, страница 2

Want to learn more about the presidential candidates? Check out their biographies on USINFO's Meet the 2008 Presidential Candidates Web page.

17 December 2007

Republican John McCain racks up endorsements

While much of the talk about the Republican race in recent weeks has been focused on whether former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee could take on poll leaders Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, Arizona Senator John McCain has quietly been gaining ground. But this weekend he stole much of the spotlight by earning highly coveted newspaper endorsements – the Des Moines Register in Iowa, the Portsmouth Herald in New Hampshire, and the Boston Globe. Although in Massachusetts, Boston is close to New Hampshire and many people who work in Boston commute from New Hampshire. McCain also received an endorsement from the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper a few weeks ago.

Today, in what might be the most surprising endorsement of this electoral season, McCain gained the support of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman -- as in 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

"I know that it is unusual for someone who is not a Republican to endorse a Republican candidate for President," Lieberman said. "In this critical election, no one should let party lines be a barrier to choosing the person we believe is best qualified to lead our nation forward." Lieberman became an Independent in 2006, but he caucuses with the Democrats in Congress.

These endorsements cite the Arizona senator's experience as one of the main reasons for supporting him. Who would you prefer - a leader with experience or one with new ideas? Let us know by participating in USINFO's Elections Quick Poll.

Learn more about endoresements here.

14 December 2007

The candidates gather for one last debate

The caucuses and primaries are less than three weeks away, and since Iowa holds the first contest, candidates have been spending the bulk of their recent time in this wintry state.

But with the holidays around the corner, the candidates realize their campaigns are winding down, as Iowa voters do not want to spend their Christmas and New Years listening to campaign attacks. So this week is one of the last full weeks on the Iowa campaign trial, and candidates used this time to appeal to Iowa voters by participating in debates hosted by the Des Moines Register newspaper.

Both of the parties' debates were considered to be quite cordial and dominated by economic issues. The Democratic candidates seemed to emphasize their interest in bringing change to America. (Read more about Americans' interest in change here.)

On the Democratic side, there were some noticeable absences. Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel did not meet the Des Moines Register's guidelines for participating since they do not have at least one full-time campaign staffer working out of an Iowa office.

Americans who watched the Republican debate, most of whom thought there were eight Republican candidates for president, were surprised to find nine people on stage. This is because Alan Keyes, a candidate generally not considered viable, met the newspapers' guidelines for participation. Keyes is most recently known for moving from Maryland to Illinois to run in that state's 2004 Senate race – where he lost to now Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

13 December 2007

Let the voting begin!

With all the talk about Iowa and New Hampshire fighting to keep their first in the nation status, it is easy to forget that some Americans in other states already will have cast their ballots by the time the January primaries and caucuses begin.

In the weeks before the primaries, some states start to send out absentee ballots to voters. So even though candidates traditionally have not spent much time in the later-scheduled primary states, they might need to rethink their strategies in order to appeal to voters who can choose to mail in their ballots any time from now until the date of the their state’s primary.