The US Presidential elections are finally entering the homestretch after a seemingly endless qualify season. USA Today has laid out the last meters in great detail. They describe how the campaigns try to prepare in advance for the events they know about and how they react to all the unscripted surprises that might happen before it’s all over November 4th. Prime example are the Olympic Games, during which both candidates will find it hard to generate substantial press coverage of their campaigns.
Here’s what fills the calendars of both John McCain and Barack Obama.
With Barack Obama speaking at the Siegessäule this Thursday, the American presidential campaign has now definitely arrived in Germany. We spoke with Jan Burdinski, program director for Republicans Abroad Germany, and Jerry Gerber, press secretary for Democrats Abroad Berlin, about the impact of the election in Germany and the possible role of Americans living here.
Is it women’s issues or the bathing suit competition after all?
On Sunday, May 18, Melinda Henneberger cleared up some misconceptions about women voters. And she should know, as she has traveled the U.S. for two years to find an answer to the question: How do women voters chose their candidate?
Just when you thought the Dems were beginning to move in circles, looking to something as colorful as gas taxes to spike the “Donkey Punch,” Obama supporters turn the knobs and change the beat.
Following Will.I.Am’s wildly popular “Yes We Can,” featuring soul saint John Legend, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the angelic Scarlett Johansson (just to name a few), TI$A (from the superior, but much overlooked, hip-hop/r’n'b producer/writer/super group Sa-Ra Creative Partners) drops another MTV/Hollywood gem to keep the election spectacle vibrant.
Something about the current campaign is quite surprising for Germans, apart from the fact that millions are spend just to determine the final candidates. It’s the notion that many people and institutions of the public life explicitly take sides in this hard fought campaign. But isn’t that what we should expect from them? [Read more]
Yesterday, it meant do or die for Hillary Clinton. The Democrats in Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas voted for their presidential candidate, and once more, it was super-close.
Surprisingly, she won Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas. So, Hillary is back in the race. These primary elections were crucial for her, since her political career (and rumors say her marriage, too) was said to be in free fall after Barack Obama had won eleven states in a row. Obamania (some say Obamamania, but that looks ridiculous to me) has been spreading all over the country and all over Tinseltown. [Read more]
The 2008 presidential election should be a slam-dunk for the Democrats. The approval ratings for the incumbent president are dismal and enthusiasm among Republicans for their primary candidates was lukewarm at best. John McCain, now the presumptive nominee, is opposed by a significant portion of party members and right-wing talk radio hosts don’t hesitate to express their disgust at the Arizona senator.