On Tuesday, November 4, the historic 2008 presidential race will end. Americans will elect as their new president either Republican Senator John McCain from Arizona or Democratic Senator Barack Obama from Illinois. If Senator McCain wins, he will be the oldest person elected to serve his first term of office, and his running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, will be the first female vice president. If Senator Obama wins, he will be the first African American to serve as president.
Barack Obama faced a long, difficult battle against Hillary Clinton in the primaries to become the Democratic nominee. His call for hope and change brought huge crowds to his rallies and over $600 million in donations to his campaign. He ran on a platform promising to pull American troops out of Iraq within 18 months of his inauguration and to raise taxes for those making over $250,000 and lower taxes for the middle class.
John McCain secured his party’s nomination three months before Obama. His campaign focused on his foreign policy experience and his reputation as a maverick who thinks and acts independently of his party. His choice of the relatively unknown conservative Sarah Palin invigorated his campaign and propelled her into the national spotlight. As the country learned more about Palin, however, she seemed to hurt McCain’s chances. Polls also showed that Americans did not believe that McCain was strong on the economy, and when the financial crisis hit in October, McCain’s numbers began to drop in the polls.
This presidential race has been the most closely watched political race in American history. Campaign coverage was dominating TV news as much as 20 months before the election.
Related Links
- 2008 Election Map
Interactive map showing which states’ electoral votes are likely to go to which candidate, and how many electoral votes each state has.
(Source: NPR, November, 2008) - CNN: Election Center 2008
News reports on the election, the candidates, and the issues, updated by the minute.
(Source: CNN, November, 2008) - BBC: Full Election Coverage
Reports and analysis on the campaigns and the election from the BBC.
(Source: BBC, November, 2008) - Reuters: Election 2008
Full coverage of the election and the issues from Reuters.
(Source: Reuters, November, 2008)
Critical Thinking Questions
- Summarize
What is historic about the 2008 U.S. presidential election? - Causes and Effects
What was the effect of John McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin on the senator’s campaign? - Compare and Contrast
Compare and contrast the positions of Barack Obama and John McCain on the war in Iraq and the U.S. economy.