POLITICS-US: E-Voting Worries Focus on Swing States

A common criticism of technology is that the more complex it gets, the more likely it is to break down; more moving parts means more potential problems.

POLITICS-US: Powell Marks Latest Republican Defection

The announcement by former Secretary of State Colin Powell Sunday that he will vote for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Nov. 4 marks the latest and most prominent, if not entirely unexpected, defection of a major Republican figure from his party's election campaign.

Q&A: "The U.S. President Is Not a King"

At 76, Daniel Ellsberg is still vocal. The man who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1969, leading to the fall of President Richard Nixon, is speaking out this time on the 2008 presidential election.

POLITICS-US: Much Ado About ACORN

As Election Day in the United States draws nigh, attacks from Sen. John McCain's campaign and its Republican supporters have focused attention on the activities of a national low- and moderate-income advocacy group, accusing it of everything from engaging in widespread, systematic voter fraud to causing the U.S.-turned-global financial crisis.

POLITICS-US: Judge Sides with Voting Rights Groups

A federal judge ruled Monday that the current practices to purge the voter rolls in Michigan are illegal and ordered Republican Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land to immediately stop the cancellation of registered voters whose voter identification cards are returned as undeliverable in the mail.

POLITICS-US: Bush Set to Go With a Whimper, Not a Bang

With only three months left in office, U.S. President George W. Bush appears increasingly determined to calm the international waters he so vigorously churned up, especially during his first term.

POLITICS-US: Palin and Christian Right on Abortion Warpath

Although the issue of abortion has not come up in either of the U.S. presidential or vice presidential debates, it is very much in play on the campaign trail, especially in a number of battleground states.

POLITICS-US: Foreclosure Victims May Lose Votes as Well

An alleged purge of registered voters, many of whom lost their homes to bank foreclosure, in the state of Michigan has prompted a lawsuit and calls in Congress for a Justice Department investigation.

U.S.: McCain Sinks on Economy, Palin Pick, Negative Attacks

Overwhelmed by crashing stock markets and what is increasingly seen by even traditional conservatives as a Faustian bargain with the extreme right-wing core of his Republican Party, Sen. John McCain's chances of winning the Nov. 4 presidential elections have fallen sharply over the past three weeks.

POLITICS-US: Voter Fraud Charges Echo Past Partisan Fights

The Nevada voter registration operation of a low-income advocacy organisation had its offices raided on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation by state authorities into whether the group is involved in systematic voter fraud.

POLITICS-US: Right-Wing Magnate Takes Up Anti-Abortion Banner

As the U.S. presidential race winds down and attack ads against Sen. Barack Obama intensify, Raymond Ruddy, a multi-millionaire conservative Catholic who over the years has been more comfortable operating in the backrooms of conservative philanthropy, appears to be coming out of the closet.

U.S.: Pakistan "Greatest Single Challenge" to Next President

Calling Pakistan the "greatest single challenge" to the next U.S. administration, a bipartisan group of South Asia experts recommends cutting aid to the Pakistani army unless it commits itself to the counter-insurgency struggle against the Taliban and al Qaeda.

POLITICS-US: Asian Americans Tilt Heavily Toward Obama

By a margin of nearly two to one, Asian-American voters favour Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, in the Nov. 4 elections, according to a major new poll released here Monday.

POLITICS-US: Michigan Republicans Upset at McCain's Exit

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain is facing a backlash from top Republicans, conservative media and party supporters for pulling out of Michigan, a key battleground state in the 2008 presidential election.

OBAMA: "Subsidising Big Oil Makes No Sense"

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama sat down with IPS correspondent Bankole Thompson again on Thursday for a one-on-one interview in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where over 15,000 enthusiastic Obama supporters turned out to hear his message of change at downtown's Calder Plaza.

ECONOMY-US: “Sweetened” Bailout Goes Back to the House

The bailout bill passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday is nearly the same Wall Street giveaway as its original, critics say - except that it now includes 100 billion dollars more in tax giveaways and pet projects for lawmakers' home districts.

POLITICS-US: Hip-Hop Stars Tap Potentially Huge Youth Vote

In 2004, hip-hop mogul Sean P. Combs, known as "Puff Daddy", accompanied by R&B megastar Mary J. Blige and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, told thousands of students at Wayne State University in Detroit it was time to elect a new president.

ECONOMY-US: Bush Plan Down but Not Out

Leading U.S. lawmakers and the cabinet of Pres. George W. Bush met behind closed doors Tuesday to strategise a way to win more votes for their 700-billion-dollar plan to bail out Wall Street, a plan that met with stunning defeat in the U.S. House on Monday.

POLITICS-US: Cartoonists Enjoy a Rollicking Race

In spite of budget cutbacks, the challenge of learning to do their work with ever-changing computer software and other pressures, U.S. newspaper editorial cartoonists are thriving in the closing months of the 2008 presidential election.

POLITICS-US: Six Points of Separation?

If the presidential election is close enough on Nov. 4, racism could hand the Republican nominee Sen. John McCain a victory, according to recent polls showing that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama is having a hard time winning over older white Democrats because of his race.

U.S.: Obama Solidifies Lead Amid Turmoil in Washington

With just five weeks before the Nov. 4 presidential elections, Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama has built a strong lead that his rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, could find difficult to reverse.