Who is to become the leader of the worlds only super power?

In a few days the race for the White House will be over and the lives of not only Americans, but hundreds of millions around the world, as well as the health of the planet will be determined. Alex Ogle, from Swindon, is spending a year at the University of Pittsburgh, says the result is too close to call.

What began as the rumblings of the initial Democratic primary process to appoint a challenger to George W. Bush over 18 months ago culminates in the roar of the most expensive election in history. The 24 hour news networks are alive with shiny analysis, behind-the-scenes exclusives and interviews with undecided voters looking decidedly confused.

Every day the President and Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry are head down in televised, thus carefully scripted, town hall meetings and, for Bush, invite-only rallies; both camps eulogizing the same vague principles of 'freedom, strength' and opportunity.'

In the three debates in early October, opinion polls and media pundits unanimously considered Kerry the winner, with many praising his careful, articulated approach. By contrast, Bush was almost comically inconsistent. After polls following the first two debates illustrated a negative reaction to his huffing and scowling to charges his administration has 'made mistakes' in the execution of the Iraq war' he spent the last debate with a fixed wide grin, at times laughing jovially at such accusations.

Yet as past campaign schedules have been a finely honed cross-country operation, with private jets whipping candidates and entourages from Long Beach, LA to Long Island, NY, this election seems over already. Just a glance at the network news colourfully show the five or six 'important' states for each candidate; with the other states regarded as 'safe' for either party.

The now famous red-blue charts invented on election night 2000 are back, showing how confined this election is; only Florida and a few of the Mid-West states are really up for the taking. Here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - home of John Kerry's wife Teresa Heinz and her colossal 57 varieties corporation - this special status means a lot of attention.

Just in the last few weeks, the city has been graced with the presence of Kerry's running mate Senator John Edwards, billionaire Kerry supporter George Soros and former-State Department director of intelligence Greg Thielmann, who eloquently explained how the Bush administration doctored intelligence data on Iraq's WMD for political gain.

John Kerry himself made a fleeting appearance. With 13 days left he has been urging on early voters in Florida one day, blitzing through four western Pennsylvania stops the next, ending up in the biggest swing state of them all, Ohio.

His Pittsburgh rally, a rainy, muddy affair, supported somewhat unnervingly by ageing-rock star Jon Bon Jovi, energised a crowd of 8,000. The president, said Kerry, is "living in a fantasy land'' when it comes to Iraq. He charged the Bush administration as 'simply not telling the truth to the American people.'

Kerry's anti-war rhetoric has made it easy for Republicans to cast their opponent as a wimp. It is clear machismo is as much a part of this election as domestic policy. And whilst the "war on terror'' is the stump of any political address - be it Bush or Kerry - Vice-President Dick Cheney has clarified the Republican position stating 'America would surely be attacked again if voters did not make the right choice in November.'

But, for all the commotion, what do the American people stand to gain from this game, played out with many millions of their tax dollars?

After President Clinton's record budget surplus in the 1990s, the winner will have to contend with a record budget deficit, along with spiralling petrol prices spilling from the turmoil in Iraq.

Furthermore, he will have to stay the course in Iraq and continue to spend many more millions, and will have to consider the possibility of instituting a draft to supplement an already strained army.

Despite the overwhelming apathy of the American public to politics in general - more than 50 per cent did not vote in 2000 - this election has polarised the nation to the extreme. Antagonism and hostility are the cornerstones of political debates; bitterness abounds between political viewpoints.

With the candidates deadlocked in the polls, it may be the presence of third party candidate Ralph Nader that could decide the election, as many have claimed it did in the 2000 election. Then Nader took thousands of voters away from Gore, allowing Bush to - arguably - win the state of Florida by a few hundred.

As Nader pointed out to me at a rally a few weeks ago, there is no essential difference between the two candidates. They both have great corporate ties and care little for the average low waged American. Establishment politics, he said, would never seriously examine the problems as they would claim to do, because neither has genuine ambition to raise up those millions from dire poverty.

Like 12 September 2001, all the world's newspapers will have the same front page story on 3 November. The victor will either be a white multi-millionaire with close links to the oil industry or a white multi-millionaire with interests in the Heinz fortune.

---

From www.pittnews.com 21 October 2004

Kerry rallies at Carnegie Mellon

By ALEX OGLE
Staff Writer

Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., brought his campaign to Pittsburgh last night, talking to an enthusiastic rally on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University.

"Never has there been an election with so much on the table," Kerry said to the crowd. "Never has there been an election when every vote counts so much."

President Bush, Kerry added, "does not have a record to run on. He has a record to run away from." 

With 13 days left until Election Day, Kerry is concentrating on the important swing states that both candidates are striving to win. On Tuesday, the senator was in Florida, where early voting has already started. Yesterday he flew from Waterloo, Iowa, to Pittsburgh, arriving at around 6 p.m.

Aging rocker Jon Bon Jovi played three songs before Kerry's entrance. Bon Jovi warned the audience that "this election is important not just for America, but for the world."

Kerry commented that Bon Jovi has written two songs about the Bush administration, even if he didn't know it.

"One was about the present state of our health care; its called "Bad Medicine." The other, about the economy, is called "Living on a Prayer."

A Kerry campaign volunteer estimated that the rally was bigger than Al Gore's in 2000, which was staged in the same place.

Crowds began arriving at CMU early in the afternoon. As Secret Service agents and Pittsburgh police set up metal detectors and fences around the mall area of campus, lines stretched toward Forbes Avenue.

Before the gates were opened around 4 p.m., Edward E. Stevens, a Korean War veteran, explained why he supports Kerry.

"He is the best choice to straighten out this country and the world," he said. "We all need to be in the same groove when it comes to fighting these terrorists, so we need co-operation."

"The Bush administration," he added, "has been a disaster in many areas, especially in Iraq. That country is now a magnet for terrorists. It's a terrible situation."

As Kerry spoke on stage, a group of Bush supporters staged a protest outside the rally, holding banners and chanting. One banner read, "Like Communism? Vote Kerry."

According to Ryan Martz, a freshman at Pitt, there was conflict between Republicans and Democrats. It was a "heated event," he said.

"[The Democrats] were grabbing our signs," Martz claimed, "pushing us, and some were throwing water on us. The police had to break some people apart. It's just a difference of opinion. We shouldn't be fighting."

On stage, Kerry spoke on a wide range of issues. On Iraq, he repeated his pledge to "bring back our allies." America needs other countries around the world, he said, to fight with the U.S. against terrorism.

Kerry also spoke of America's needs at home. "Why are we having to import flu vaccines from England?" he asked, referring to the much-publicized vaccine shortage in recent days.

"Why are senior citizens having to go up to Canada to buy the vaccines, at a cheaper price? We should be making [the vaccines] right here in America."

Kerry called for the U.S. to return to an age of invention, mentioning the Wright Brothers' historic flight in North Carolina, and the space age of the 1960s. A Kerry administration, the senator said, "will recommit America to science and exploration. And we will do stem cell research that will help millions of American lives."

In closing, Kerry spoke of his vision for the economy. "I don't want Americans to work for the economy; I want the economy to work for Americans," he said.

As the U2 song "Beautiful Day" boomed through the large stage speakers, Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, walked along the crowd barrier shaking hands.

"It's like one of those rock concerts," said an older woman as she was being pushed by audience members reaching over each other to touch the senator.

Dave Farkas, a junior at Pitt, said he was "happy and surprised that Kerry came out and talked about stem cell research, and didn't dance around the idea like he did at the debates."

"This is the first political rally I've ever been to," Farkas said. "And I was really impressed by the size and intensity of the crowd. You felt the Kerry fever, and felt part of something."

"I saw the unity between college kids and old people," he added. "To see people so united behind a presidential candidate was incredible."

---

Other reports from Alex Ogle :

From www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk

• 28 October 2004 My snapshot of the US election
• 30 October 2004 Is time running out for the President?