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US presidential campaign: neck-and-neck race in Florida and Ohio

Barack Obama may have a clear lead over his rival John McCain in the polls – but in some states, the race is not yet over:

In Ohio and Florida, it is a tight race between Barack Obama and John McCain: According to Fox News, John McCain currently has an advantage over his Democratic rival – two points in Ohio, one point in Florida. In Ohio, poll results are fluctuating: sometimes Obama is in the lead, in the poll, it’s McCain again. According to Fox News, McCain is currently leading with 49:47 percent. A week ago, a prognosis based on the average poll results had still shown six-point lead for Obama. According to pollster John Zogby, that has been another great day for Obama, but he continues, there was no reason to draw any rash conclusions. A lot could change until US elections on November 4. In the meantime, Obama canceled all his campaign events for the next two days – to fly to Hawaii and visit his sick grandmother. Apparently, she is not doing very well. The 85-year old woman was the one who raised the man who is today a presidential candidate.

Nobel Prize for Economics goes to US researcher Krugman

This year’s Nobel Prize for Economics goes to Paul Krugman, as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced. The price was awarded to Krugman “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.” This is the ninth time in a row the Nobel Prize for Economics is awarded to a US citizen. The prize is worth €1.1 million (approximately $1.6 million). The award ceremony takes place December 10 in the Swedish capital.

The Princeton economics professor and famous colonist for the “New York Times” had predicted the financial crisis several years ago. The 55-year old scientist is a harsh critic of US President George W. Bush’s economic policy. Krugman had been considered a possible candidate for the price for years. The professor who teaches at Princeton University in New Jersey said, as a first reaction, that he was deeply moved. Concerning the current banking and financial crisis, he described it as scary, but said he was glad that politicians were beginning to act more sensibly.

Santa Claus wants to become President of the US

Barack Obama and John McCain have a new, very popular rival for the office of president: Santa Claus want to become the next president of the United States.

However, this Santa Claus doesn’t live at the North Pole, he lives in West Virginia. He was formerly known as Thomas O’Connor, but, because his appearance bears a striking resemblance to that of Santa Claus, had his name legally changed to Santa Claus three years ago.

His candidacy was made possible by the state’s easy registration rules. “All they have to do is file a form at least 42 days before the election. Santa Claus filed his form,” said a spokesman of the election division. This makes Santa Claus one of 14 official candidates from West Virginia.

US election online

One click and Barack Obama is the president, another and it’s John McCain. On the internet, it is quite easy to determine the result of the US election on November 4. By November 5, internet users will know whether their predictions in the “Electoral Vote Tracker” were correct. A number of media use this system, for example the “New York Times,” the “Los Angeles Times,” “USA Today,” and the television networks “CNN” and “CBS.” Here, users can predict, which states will go to Obama and which will go to McCain.

One of the most extensive German websites is “USA Wahl 2008” a blog run by “Handelsblatt” journalist Georg Watzlaweck. Also the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung (state’s office for political education) of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart offers basic information about the US election campaign. “It is our job to advertise democracy – not only during elections in Germany,” says online editor Wolfgang Herterich. Readers will learn, among other things, how the US voting system works. A collection of links leads to other informative websites, such as the candidate’s televised debates.