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NewsHour Links: The Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary Interview with John
McCain after his win in New Hampshire A conversation with Al
Gore View the campaign ads
of the Republican presidential
candidates. View the campaign ads
of the Democratic presidential
candidates. George
Bush on the campaign trail. Gary
Bauer on the campaign trail. Pat
Buchanan switches to the Reform Party Elizabeth
Dole drops out Conversation
with Bill Bradley Conversation
with John McCain George
Bush The
rise of the celebrity candidate Dan
Quayle's announcement to drop out The
role of money in the upcoming election Other Links:
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Who will be the next president? Before Americans can choose the next President of the United States they must vote for the person they want to represent each political party in the national election.
"Titanic Tuesday" was March 7th. On that day, voters from 16 states- including big ones like New York, California and Ohio- voted for their man.
Republicans chose George Bush over John McCain, and McCain has suspended his campaign, and is expected to drop out soon. We'll be covering the campaign up until election day, but here's a brief introduction (in alphabetical order) to each candidate with links to more in-depth NewsHour reports. Also check out a description of how a caucus works and the history of primary elections. Republicans GEORGE
W. BUSH Governor Bush has received
quite a bit of criticism lately as he tries to rev up his campaign against
McCain. But George W. isn't backing down. He has almost four times as much campaign money as Senator McCain (around 31 million dollars!) and still has strong support from conservatives. He is counting on a big win in South Carolina to take the wind out of McCain's sails. A
NewsHour Campaign Snapshot of George W. Bush Commentator Alan Keyes is seeking support from the religious conservative wing of the Republican party. Although he only received 6% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, he has been able to draw attention to conservative moral issues by challenging his opponents eloquently in debates.
Keyes has complained that he does not receive as much attention as the other candidates and thinks that it may be because he is African-American. Nevertheless, he received criticism from his rival when he was photographed crowd-surfing in a mosh-pit to "Rage Against the Machine." If elected, Keyes would be the first African-American president. JOHN
McCAIN A prisoner of war during the U.S.'s conflict in Vietnam, McCain campaigns as a patriotic war hero who will keep America strong and honor its veterans. Like his opponent, he would like to give Americans a tax break but believes that about half of the government's extra money should be used to strengthen Social Security. One of his biggest goals is to reform the campaign system which he views as corrupt and unfair. Because of this, along with his softer conservative views and seeming charm, Senator McCain has won the support of most independent voters and even some Democrats. Many people believe that he would have a better chance of beating Al Gore (if each were to win) in a national election. Because McCain hasn't been
very specific about his beliefs, though, he is getting attacked from
both sides. Conservatives say that he is selling out by campaigning
to Democrats and independents, while Liberals point to his conservative
voting record in the Senate and claim that he is using them to gain
the Republican nomination. McCain has also been criticized for his hot
temper and for using the same kind of campaign tactics that he spends
so much time criticizing. A NewsHour Campaign Snapshot of John McCain Democrats Former basketball star and
New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley left the Senate in 1996 to travel across
the country and talk about why he wants to be president. His 48% of
the vote in Bradley is generally considered more liberal than Gore, and wants Americans to "think big." He would like to use the country's extra money to provide health care for all Americans and believes that all gun owners should have to get a license. While he has some very popular supporters, like former Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan, Bradley has been slipping in the polls. To regain momentum he has been questioning Al Gore's commitment to abortion rights and has drawn attention to some of Gore's shady fundraising in 1996. He admits that he must win a large number of the "Super Tuesday" primaries to stay in the race.
NewsHour Snapshot of Bradley
The current Vice President
has been the Democratic front-runner since the primary process began.
Although Gore prides himself on his work in protecting the environment and charting the Internet. While his campaign lost steam around the time of the Iowa caucus, he came out with new energy for the New Hampshire primary. Since then, he has been working hard to spread his ideas of how to continue the nation's prosperity and of "responsible" reforms. A
NewsHour Campaign Snapshot of Al Gore Other political news There are other political parties besides the Democrats and the Republicans: Common Sense, Family Values, the Green Party, Natural Law, Libertarian, even a party called Mike's Party. There's a full list on the vote-smart site. But the party with the most name-recognition is the reform party. THE REFORM
PARTY: As a third party, it was appealing to many Americans who were sick and tired of "politics as usual." It faired poorly in the 1996 election, but got a big boost when Jesse Ventura (of WWF fame) was elected governor of Minnesota under the Reform Party banner. He became the first Reformer to hold state-wide office. During Campaign 2000 it became clear that a split was developing in the party. Ventura and his Minnesota branch refused to support activist Pat Buchanan's bid for the nomination, which was backed by party founder Ross Perot. Ventura left the party on February 12th, rejoining the Minnesota Independence Party and encouraging his followers to do the same. It looks as though Buchanan will be representing the Reform Party in the general election. |
Candidates
are traveling from state to state trying to convince us that they're
the ones for the job. 
There
were dramatic 
He
has been accused of running negative TV ads, which he promised he wouldn't
do. He was also put in the hot-seat after he gave a speech at Bob Jones
University- a Christian conservative school that doesn't allow interracial
dating. Opponents also say that his tax cut doesn't leave enough money
for important government programs and point out Texas's poor environmental
record.
Previously
the Ambassador to the U.N. Social and Economic Council, Keyes became
a known figure during the Reagan administration. He and Gary Bauer,
who has since dropped out of the race, spent a lot of time in Iowa and
New Hampshire competing for the votes of Christian conservatives. If
president, he would ban all abortions and dissolve the Internal Revenue
Service (the I.R.S.). 
His
plan payed off when he won the contest and became something of a national
sensation. He is now considered by most to be the only legitimate challenger
to George W. Bush. 
New
Hampshire put him in a good position to challenge Vice President Gore,
but Senator McCain's success among independent voters and time in the
limelight has hurt Bradley's effort. He is hoping to win the support
of voters who want to bring change and integrity to Washington. 
Bradley
has accused him of being "iffy" on core democratic issues,
Gore has the support of large segments of the African American community,
women and labor unions. He would like to take credit for the successes
of the Clinton administration and the present economic boom, but has
distanced himself from President Clinton's personal scandals. By moving
his campaign headquarters to his home state of Tennessee he hoped to
get away from the label of "Washington insider."  PBS Online Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Our Mission | FAQ Copyright © MacNeil-Lehrer Productions All Rights Reserved |
