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The last two years in office till 2009 for the U.S. President George W. Bush give him opportunities to set a favorable record for himself and shape his legacy for the future. Finding Osama bin Laden and negotiating peace in Palestine are two foreign issues which he can engage in successfully, while energy policy, immigration and border security, and economic reforms with regard to Social Security in particular are domestic issues he can tackle in a favorable and effective manner.

The meteoric rise of Barack Obama to be considered a forerunner for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election is examined. Although he does not possess the experience considered a prerequisite for becoming president of the United States, the public see him as a symbol of hope for the young, open American society with a bright future, and also find him successful, talented, respectful and deeply human, a reflection of what they want America to be.

God's Own Party (GOP) strategists privately concede their poor prospects in the looming November 7, 2006 elections, but believe that Democrats are certain to overplay their hand if they win, giving Republicans a chance to return in 2008. Political overreaching is a danger after power shifts in Congress and eager congressional Democrats may do well to recall the aftermaths of the 1946 and 1994 elections that demonstrated that divided government can sometimes work more to the president's political advantage than to the opposition party's.

The escalation of the sex scandal involving Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, even to the extent of affecting the party's prospects in the 2006 midterm elections, is discussed. The Foley scandal is believed to strongly affect the party since a sex scandal is easy to understand and interesting to the public who follow it closely, and also due to the supposed hypocrisy of the party projecting itself as upholding traditional family values, in allowing the inappropriate behavior of its member.

The recurring theme in Western politics and speeches of US Presidents is that democracies do not war with one another, thereby enabling America to wage war on countries, overthrow regimes and restore democracy to make the world safe. America has fought 11 major wars and many smaller ones since the Revolutionary War with the justification that a democracy will lead to a secure, prosperous and creatively diverse world.

The GOP's main agenda for 2006 is to keep control of Congress and enhance the President George W. Bush's poll numbers. Movement conservatives believe that these goals can be achieved if Republicans return to the basics and emphasize some issues like fiscal discipline and energy production.

Partisanship has long been part of the American political scene, but too much partisanship obscures issues instead of clarifying them, and leaves no room for compromise. Almost all scholars studying polarization in the country's political system in 2006 are reaching the same pessimistic conclusion that Americans are pulling apart.

Presidents Bush's actions like signing of the omnibus appropriations bill for 2004, high government spending, his plans for sending astronauts to Mars are criticized. There has been a 50 percent drop in the public assessment of Presidemnt Bush's job performance, handling of economy and Iraq war.

The way Pres George W. Bush and the Republican Party consolidate the power given them by the 2002 elections will be as important as the policies they develop. They are secure enough to compromise with Democrats in ways that could produce long-term benefits.

The Republican Party won a decisive, if close, victory in 2002, gaining control of both House and Senate. This position will probably raise voter expectations, which in turn creates significant influence for the 2004 elections.

Vice President Dick Cheney has openly declared he has no interest in being president, and he often is the first high-ranking member of the Bush administration to discover potential problems. Bush treats Cheney as a full partner in government, although Cheney will not protest if he is not chosen to campaign in 2004.

This article examines 13 Senate races, 47 House races, and 21 gubernatorial races. The authors explore 30 issues that are considered major topics in the mid-term election 2002, with abortion, defense spending, agriculture, and anti-terrorism being the most controversial.

Local politics nationwide are examined. The author argues national issues are being overshadowed by local issues, and may even transform national politics, in the upcoming elections.

Issues concerning the manner in which technology changes and challenges society are examined. Topics include infrared cameras for firefighting planes, possibilities for biometric national identification cards, out-of-date voting systems, DNA evidence, and human error.

President George W. Bush's senior adviser Karl Rove prefers to regard himself as an emerging political policy expert. Many of Rove's colleagues see his political awareness as continuing to shape his career after the end of his White House service.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2002 and the decline in the United States economy means a return to increased deficit spending. President George W. Bush's proposed budget relies on deficit spending and Congress is likely to reject cuts in social program spending and add more federal spending.

As a boy, Miles Parsons loved to dress up and play army, usually pretending to be a G1 in World War II. After getting his college degree, he enlisted in [...]

THIS AUTUMN, earlier than expected, the United States attained the dubious milestone of having put behind bars some 2 million of the people living within its borders. This is twice [...]

The National Archives is launching several endeavors to democratize historical material, which would eliminate the middlemen, namely historians, and allow Americans to access information directly on their home computers.

MoveOn.org, an Internet driven liberal grassroots organization launched by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd in 1998, has played a huge role in Democrats' victory in the 2006 elections. With a membership of 3.2 million people who launched a campaign to gain Democrats the control of Congress, MoveOn has moved on to focus on the four main issues of the Iraq war, clean energy, health insurance and anti-corruption, and will be pressing the Democratic Congress for relevant action.

The victory of the Democrats in the 2006 elections to gain control of Congress indicates that the public wants cooperation from their divided government. However, lessons are also to be learnt from other issues in this election such as the value of swing votes, the negative effect of scandals, media focus, competence to govern, handling of the Iraq war, and the possibility of second chances in politics, by which the party, which works on these issues better would be prepared for the 2008 elections.

Norman Mineta, the longest-serving secretary in the Transportation Department and the only Democrat selected to join the cabinet of the US President George W. Bush, considers the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration after 9/11 and the employees' prompt response after Hurricane Katrina as his proudest achievements. He reveals his rise from the World War II experiences, to serve in the cabinet of a Democrat and a Republican President has made life interesting.