LA CAMPAGNE PRESIDENTIELLE DE 2008

SOURCES:

http://france.usembassy.gov/irc/politics/webalert/default.htm

INTERNET’S BROADER ROLE IN CAMPAIGN 2008

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, January 11, 2008

http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/384.pdf

The internet is living up to its potential as a major source for news about the presidential campaign. Nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%). The quadrennial survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project on campaign news and political communication, conducted Dec. 19-30 among 1,430 adults, shows that the proportion of Americans who rely on traditional news sources for information about the campaign has remained static or declined slightly since the last presidential campaign. Compared with the 2000 campaign, far fewer Americans now say they regularly learn about the campaign from local TV news (down eight points), nightly network news (down 13 points) and daily newspapers (down nine points). Cable news networks are up modestly since 2000, but have shown no growth since the 2004 campaign. By contrast, the proportion of Americans who say they regularly learn about the campaign from the internet has more than doubled since 2000 – from 9% to 24%.

RACE, ETHNICITY AND CAMPAIGN ’08

The Pew Research Center, January 17, 2008

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/694/race-ethnicity-and-campaign-08

A major Pew Research survey of racial attitudes taken this past fall found that whites, blacks and Hispanics all have generally favorable opinions of one another and all tend to see inter-group relations in a more positive than negative light. There are some differences in these attitudes by race, ethnicity, age, social-economic status and geography -- but these tend to be small. The overall portrait of race relations is one of moderation, stability and modest progress.

THE RELIGION FACTOR IN THE 2008 ELECTION

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, December 4, 2007

http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=163

Analyzing recent surveys, John C. Green suggested that the line dividing more observant and less observant voters - so pronounced in the 2004 election - may be blurring. Finally, Green pointed out that while a majority of Americans both like the idea of a president with strong religious faith and enjoy hearing candidates talk about their beliefs, a significant minority are turned off by what they perceive as too much faith talk; candidates must therefore walk a fine line in order to satisfy both constituencies.

Spotlight on Naturalization Trends in Advance of the 2008 Elections

The Migration Policy Institute, January 2008

http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?id=670

Beginning October 1, 2008, immigrants who wish and are eligible to become U.S. citizens will have to take a revised citizenship test. The new test was created to ensure that future citizens have a good understanding of U.S. history and civic values, as well as English language skills.

THE ROLE OF DELEGATES IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING PROCESS

Council on Foreign Relations, February 12, 2008

http://www.cfr.org/publication/15414/delegate_system.html?breadcrumb=%2F

In recent decades, the presidential candidates of the two major political parties in the United States generally have emerged during state-by-state primary elections and caucuses that occur in the winter and spring before a general election. Officially, candidates only become their party’s presidential nominee after a vote is taken by party delegates to the Republican or Democratic presidential nominating conventions later in the summer. These delegates are supposed to take their cue from the voters who cast ballots during their states’ primaries and caucuses, though each party’s rules make it possible for multiple rounds of balloting and horse trading if no candidate is able to gain a majority on the first ballot. But since 1976, no major party convention has opened with the identity of the nominee in question.