Cosa penserà oggi Barack di Silvio?

Marzo 2006: Berlusconi pronuncia un intervento al Congresso degli Stati Uniti. Obama non applaude, non si alza in piedi, si guarda in giro stranito e perplesso, sbadiglia, rischia di addormentarsi.

P.S. Da notare l’improbabile inglese del nostro presidente del Consiglio

USA: il vicepresidente Joe Biden

 

E’ Joe Biden, senatore del Delaware, il nuovo vicepresidente degli Stati Uniti, dopo la storica vittoria del democratico Barack Obama che ha sconfitto il rivale repubblicano John McCain.

Joseph Robinette Biden è nato a Scranton, in Pennsylvania, il 20 novembre 1942 da una famiglia irlandese e cattolica. A 10 anni si trasferisce con la famiglia in un quartiere della classe media, la New Castle County, in Delaware: suo padre è venditore di auto ed insegna ai figli (quattro) a lavorare sodo e lottare per ciò in cui credono.

Nel 1961 ottiene il diploma alla Archmere Academy a Claymont, in Delaware. Poi l’iscrizione all’Università del Delaware a Newark. Nel 1965 la laurea e nel 1968 la specializzazione in Giurisprudenza conseguita alla Syracuse University. Biden prende entrambe le lauree con votazioni tra le più basse del corso, ma ammesso all’albo degli avvocati del Delaware nel 1969, pratica la professione per diversi anni.

Nel 1964 incontra la prima moglie, Neilia Hunter, che sposa nel 1966. Da lei ha tre figli, Joseph R. III (Beau), Robert Hunter e Naomi. Viene eletto al Senato a soli 30 anni e dopo qualche mese la sua vita viene sconvolta da una tragedia: la moglie ventisettenne e la figlia di 13 mesi muoiono in un incidente stradale, travolte da un camionista ubriaco, mentre stanno andando a comprare l’albero di Natale. In macchina ci sono anche gli altri due figli della coppia, di tre e due anni, che sopravvivono ma rimangono gravemente feriti. Biden fa la spola quotidianamente con l’ospedale: per settimane non abbandona i loro letti, uscendo solo per il funerale della moglie e della figlia.

Molti scommettono che lascerà il mandato, ma lui non molla, facendo il pendolare tra Washington e casa, a Wilmington, in Delaware – tre ore di treno ogni giorno – per poter crescere i suoi bambini.

Biden viene eletto nel New Castle County Council nel 1970 e vi rimane per due anni prima di essere eletto al Senato nel 1972. Da allora è in Senato, dove è stato rieletto cinque volte.

Nel 1975 incontra la donna che diventerà la sua seconda moglie, Jill Jacobs, un’insegnante del Delaware con cui si ricostruisce una vita. Si sposano nel 1977 e nel 1981 hanno una figlia, Ashley. Oggi hanno cinque nipoti.

I figli maschi di Biden si sono lasciati alle spalle i problemi causati dall’incidente. Uno è procuratore del Delaware e capitano nella Guardia nazionale ed è stato chiamato a prestare servizio in Iraq.

Biden è presidente della Commissione Esteri del Senato e fa parte della Commissione Giustizia. E’ considerato tra i senatori più liberali.

Si è opposto alle nomine alla Corte Suprema dei conservatori Clarence Thomas e Samuel Alito come giudici e John Roberts come presidente.

Durante la guerra in Bosnia, è stato tra coloro che hanno chiesto con più forza misure a protezione dei musulmani bosniaci, dalla fine dell’embargo sulle armi ai raid aerei della Nato alle azioni giudiziarie contro i crimini di guerra.

Mentre l’amministrazione Bush procedeva verso la guerra con l’Iraq, Biden affermava che gli Stati Uniti probabilmente non avevano altra scelta se non rovesciare Saddam Hussein, opponendosi tuttavia a un’azione unilaterale, chiedendo di non lasciare nulla di intentato a livello diplomatico. Si è anche opposto alla strategia del presidente George W. Bush di aumentare i livelli delle truppe in Iraq per ridurre le violenze.

Biden è stato rieletto al Congresso nel 1978, nel 1984, nel 1990, nel 1996 e nel 2002: attualmente è al sesto mandato. I suoi punti di forza si ritrovano nella sua vita privata: figlio del popolo, orgoglioso di un padre che gli ha insegnato che “nessuno è meglio degli altri”, ha dimostrato di sapersi rialzare, superando prove terribili: oltre alla perdita della prima moglie e della figlia, Biden è stato operato due volte per l’asportazione di un aneurisma cerebrale. E’ cattolico ma favorevole all’aborto. Ha radici nella classe operaia, la battuta pronta, ed è molto amato nel cuore industriale dell’Est.

Ma è anche un uomo di apparato e rassicurante di fianco al giovane Barack Obama; un insider che conosce perfettamente Washington, dove si muove a suo agio e sa come manovrare le leve del potere nonostante la sua tendenza ormai nota alle gaffes. Presidente della commisione Esteri del Senato, è un esperto di politica estera, campo in cui il senatore Obama è invece considerato più debole. Dal 1991 è professore associato presso la Widener University School of Law, dove tiene un seminario di legge costituzionale.

US election from the world’s point of view

AIR OF ANTICIPATION IN KENYA

By Ron Mott, NBC News Correspondent

KISUMU, Kenya – You can’t walk more than a few dozen paces through the downtown streets of this city of roughly 500,000 without hearing the names “Barack,” “Obama,” or more likely, “Barack Obama,” springing forth from sidewalk conversations.

He seems to be on the minds and tongues of just about everyone here, to say nothing about all those T-shirts, bumper stickers, and colorful clothes that are fashioned into women’s dresses bearing his image. In fact, one young man made a hat that puts an ordinary 20-gallon cowboy hat to shame. It rose two feet off his head, covered with newspaper clippings about Obama.

VIDEO: Excitement in the air in Kenya

Simply put, Kenyans are beyond excited about the prospects of a President Obama.

Kisumu is about a 90-minute drive from the rural village of K’Ogelo, where Obama’s grandmother, siblings and extended family live. It’s usually quiet and low-key in these parts, but then again, there’s nothing usual about a potential U.S. president having ties to this hard-working, farming community carved out of the forested vistas of western Kenya.

A new tourist attraction

The family’s modest property has become one of the country’s newest and most sought after tourist and international media attractions. Chain-link fencing and a green iron gate – installed to keep curiosity seekers at bay – have transformed this normally bucolic setting into a compound, with dozens of people milling about, including a rather large detail of security guards.

My photographer, Dwaine Scott, and I made the trek to K’Ogelo Monday morning with our driver, Albert. Upon our arrival, a kind gentleman approached us from the property next door, where we parked. He offered what seemed to be a well-rehearsed and oft-recited piece of advice: Please, do not photograph anything or anyone but the Obama home. 

Fatigue was evident in his voice, his eyes, and his words. “None of us have slept well because of this, you understand.”

We certainly do.

After finishing our assignment, we made our way out of K’Ogelo on the main dirt road, which was being given a fresh covering of earth. We joked about how the Kenyan government was getting ahead of the curve for an expected rise in traffic in coming days, weeks, months – maybe years.

VIDEO: Kenyans discuss the release of a new musical about Barack Obama

Back in Kisumu, the air is thick with anticipation. Hotel workers and others have told us they plan to stay up all night watching television coverage and look forward to kicking Wednesday morning off here with the party of parties.

But first, they realize, their man must win the election.

MCCAIN HAS AN EDGE AMONG U.S. VOTERS IN ISRAEL

By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer

TEL AVIV, Israel  –  Thousands of Americans living in Israel cast their votes this week for the U.S. elections. With approximately 40,000 Americans in Israel registered to vote, their numbers are small, but significant.

And Shimon Greenspan and Dina Lerner, founders of a private, non-partisan organization called Vote from Israel, were determined to make sure their votes were counted.

VIDEO: Americans in Israel cast their absentee ballots

Several months ago Greenspan and Lerner, were sitting around with friends talking about the upcoming election and were amazed to find out their friends were not intending to vote. There were many reasons, but they mainly boiled down to that that it was just too difficult.

All the excuses prompted Greenspan and Lerner to create their organization and encourage U.S. residents living here to register and vote. In a period of only a few weeks, their organization has been responsible for registering up to 10,000 U.S. citizens to vote in the November elections.

Poll: Israel would be a red state

Voters answered poll questions regarding the issues they considered most important, as well as which candidate they thought more capable of handling a host of issues. 

 

More than half of the respondents listed foreign policy (including Israel policy) as the most important factor influencing their vote. The potential threat from a nuclear Iran was of concern to these voters. Nearly two-thirds of respondents were “very concerned” by the Iranian threat, with 93 percent agreeing that a nuclear Iran would be a threat to the United States.

And in a poll of 817 Americans who cast their absentee ballots here this week – 76 percent said they voted for Sen. John McCain and 24 percent said they voted for Sen. Barack Obama. 

The poll, which was commissioned by the Vote from Israel organization, was conducted by Keevoon, a Jerusalem-based research firm.

FOR WEARY IRAQIS, U.S ELECTION SMELLS OF ‘HONEY PROMISES’

By NBC News’ Karim Hilmi

BAGHDAD – A few weeks ago, Arab satellite channels were airing live coverage of the Democratic Party convention. At a cafe in my Baghdad neighborhood, the TV was tuned into the goings-on in Denver.

The cafe was full, as it is usually is after working hours. But hardly a head was pointed in the direction of the TV as the Democratic Party raised its collective voice to welcome Barack Obama. Most just kept playing dominos, backgammon, cards and drinking tea and Pepsi.

VIDEO: Iraqis not holding much hope for change with U.S. election

That’s despite the fact that Obama has some Islamic roots – his father was raised a Muslim and the presidential candidate spent four or five years in predominantly Muslim Indonesia as a child – and that he and his Republican opponent, John McCain, have divergent opinions on their handling of Iraq’s future.

Why? Busy lives – and a weary fatalism born of 25 years of Saddam Hussein and five-and-a-half years of American occupation.

‘Merely faces to be changed’
Just a few friends sitting near me in the cafe talked about the election, and only then because they were prompted by my questions as to who they would prefer as the next U.S. president.

“I don’t give a crap who wins or loses,” said Safa, a mechanic in his mid-30s. “What good did Bush do to the Iraqi people? Only death and devastation.”

The conversation started to warm up a little. “Don’t you forget that Bush made us get rid of Saddam, or else we would still be ruled by him and his party and wearing khaki,” said Adnan, a plumber, referring to the military uniform he wore in the Iraqi army for about 15 years.

“But don’t forget also that Saddam used to give power, water and full foodstuffs through the ration card,” chimed in Saman, who is a member of the peshmerga, a Kurdish paramilitary group that fights for a free Kurdish state. “But this government robs us and makes us die in life.”

Khalid, a merchant in his late 50s, jumped into the mini-debate.

“In my opinion Saddam, the Americans and the new Iraqi government are all the same – they have done nothing to help Iraqis.

“Bush, McCain or Obama, they are merely faces to be changed,” he added, “but the policy is the same and the non-actions and honey promises will be the same.”

And then just as quickly the debate died.

FOR CHINESE, U.S. ELECTION IS ‘ENTERTAINING’

Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer

BEIJING – Last september, three books about Barack Obama were published in China – to little fanfare.

Despite being prominently displayed inside one of Beijing’s larger bookstores, the books – two were his own and the third was a collection of his speeches and writings – attracted little interest the day we visited.

The shop clerk said sales were “healthy” for a new release, but “The No. 1 Bodyguard in China,” a biography of a former Chinese security guard, sitting next to “The Audacity of Hope,” drew more curiosity. No books by John McCain were available; apparently his writings have yet to be translated into Chinese.

Adrienne Mong / NBC News

Books about Barack Obama were just translated into Chinese.

“At the average person’s level in China, I’ve just found [the U.S. presidential election] to be less interesting than any other thing – the Olympics, the earthquake, other things going on in China that are of huge historical importance to China itself,” observed James Fallows, who’s been based here for two years writing for The Atlantic Monthly.

Apart from the events he mentioned, there were also the winter storms that paralyzed half the country; the Tibet riots; torch relay protests; violence in Xinjiang; and now the melamine-tainted milk scandal. No surprise then that most Chinese have been focusing on domestic events.

But, as usual when it comes to China, it’s never that simple. As we talked to people about the American election, we found varying levels of interest and curiosity.

‘It’s just for fun’

“Many people pay attention to the election but with different motivations,” said Professor Jin Canrong, Associate Dean at the School of International Studies. According to Jin, interest in China is broken down into three broad categories: official (government), intellectual (academics and policy analysts), and laobaixing (ordinary people).

“For intellectual communities, they want to learn something from the process and try to improve China’s approach of governance,” said Jin. “But for the average people, especially young people, it’s just for fun.”

“It’s entertaining for an outsider,” agreed Li Xin, a young woman who edits an economic magazine. “That makes you want to watch and follow and see what’s going on next.”

VIDEO: Chinese weigh in on the U.S. election

And while the government and think tanks have a sophisticated grasp of how the U.S. election campaign works, ordinary Chinese seem bewildered by the process. “I think the election process is quite complicated with all the rules of caucuses, primaries, and the general election,” said Li.

Especially the election conclusion. One Chinese acquaintance told me he was stunned, when he first witnessed a presidential election after moving to the United States, to see a candidate concede defeat. “The only form of democracy we Chinese have ever seen really is what is in Taiwan,” he said. “And that is completely different. The loser never just gives up.”

Personality, not policy

“We noticed some differences in their policy towards China,” said Jin. “For John McCain, he will pay more attention to [the] so-called military build-up of China, the religious freedoms, and Taiwan…. For Obama, we have some concern about the possible trade protectionism, some dispute around climate change, human rights, especially the human rights issue relating [to] Tibet.”

But because the policy differences at this stage seem minute or elusive to most Chinese, they focus instead on the candidates’ personalities. “McCain, he’s a veteran, he’s very patriotic, and he’s 70. He’s got all this old stuff going on,” said Annie Gong, a 20-year old college junior. “Obama, of course, he’s young, cute…but I think he’s kind of lacking in experience.”

In general, young Chinese, however, seem drawn to the Illinois senator. “I think Obama is really exciting,” said Li, who is 29. “He represents the fresh face of America. The typical American dream.”

And in a country which counts 253 million people as internet users – more than in the United States – Obama’s internet savvy has been noted. “His team is very skillful in communicating with young people by the internet,” observed Jin.

But for older Chinese, Obama’s race is a stumbling block. “I’ve been struck by how many high-level people in China are sort of thrown off their feet by the idea of a black person possibly as the president of the U.S.,” said Fallows.

Racism isn’t enough to explain their reaction to Obama. Throughout the Cold War, the Chinese were fed a diet of anti-capitalist propaganda, a narrative that portrayed the U.S. political and economic system as corrupt and immoral. American capitalism, according to this viewpoint, was the root of its manifold social ills: inequality, sexual immorality, urban poverty, violence, and, especially, racism.

 a translation of a U.S. article discussing how race could cost Obama votes was being widely circulated on some of China’s popular websites. 

The fact of Obama as a U.S. presidential candidate creates anxiety for this older generation of Chinese. “How is it possible that someone who grew up in that system can succeed?” a local Chinese journalist asked rhetorically.”I think his success upsets those people’s world view – their understanding of what American society is.”

U.S. – China relations

So far, the Chinese government has stayed mum on its preferences. The leadership in Beijing appears to favor neither candidate, but “If there were a huge debate over the future of Taiwan, huge U.S. debate over a military rivalry with China, it might be different,” said Fallows.

Also, relations between Beijing and Washington have been on a stable course in recent years. 

“People tend to think, there will be no dramatic change in policy [with the incoming administration],” noted Jin.

But whoever ends up as the U.S. president, one thing remains clear to those living here: he will need to cooperate with the Chinese leadership. “There is such thoroughgoing connection that it just is fantasy that one can go without the other,” said Fallows.

Ultimately, though, what is important to the Chinese is that America stays a true friend. “As a Chinese, I will be very happy if I saw one candidate say he [wants to] establish a very good contact with China,” said Edmund Lu, a business school student. “But if he says he doesn’t like China or he supports Taiwan independence, I will feel very sad. I will not support him.”

FOR POLES, U.S. ELECTION IS PERSONAL

By Jennifer Carlile, msnbc.com reporter

 SLUPSK, POLAND – For the citizens of the Polish city of Slupsk, the American election is personal.

Like the rest of Poland, the northern city has borne the scars of Europe’s many wars and invasions. Now Slupsk is preparing for another potential conflict – as proposed host to a controversial U.S. missile site, one that has drawn the fury of Russia.

Slupsk, which had to be rebuilt after World War II, is central to a U.S.-led NATO expansion around and into the former Soviet Union, which is ratcheting up the tension between Moscow and Washington.

“The people of Slupsk are more interested than ever in the U.S. election,” Mayor Maciej Kobylinski said.

VIDEO: Poles and a Gdansk-based American share their views on the U.S. presidential election.

The mayor backs the missile site, envisioning new highways, a small civilian airport, a water park and an Olympic-size swimming pool “not only for Polish citizens, but for the Americans that will come,” he said.

He’s dusting off the welcome mat for an estimated 1,000 U.S. military personnel, but the warmth toward the installation isn’t unanimous – and opinions are divided over which U.S. presidential candidate will be best for Poland.

For Woytech Czajka, who sells “gold of the north” – amber jewelry – on the Baltic Sea boardwalk 20 minutes north of Slupsk, “George Bush was a very good partner in politics for Poland, but I’ve heard that [Barack] Obama wouldn’t be as good.”

Sipping Zywiec beer and showing off his resin pendants, Czajka, 21, said the missile site would protect his country.

“We are a free country now, but Russia doesn’t accept that,” Czajka said.

“I heard that Obama doesn’t want to build it, so I prefer [John] McCain,” he added.

A divided city 
Both candidates, in fact, back the plan. Obama, however, has said that he would want to test the effectiveness of the missiles before they are activated.

Under the defense deal, 10 missile interceptors will be placed in underground silos at Redzikowo airfield, on the outskirts of Slupsk.  By 2011 to 2013, they will work in conjunction with U.S.-run radar based in the Czech Republic to thwart a potential attack by Iran. In an attempt to quell the Kremlin’s worries, The U.S. Missile Defense Agency says the system cannot be used for an offensive attack without obvious modification of the football-sized field it will occupy. 

Yet the proposal has divided this city of 100,000.

“No to the U.S. Shield,” reads red paint on a wall next to a busy market in the heart of Slupsk.

“The Russians threatened to point their missiles at Poland,” if the deal was signed, said Mariusz Chmiel, a district leader who said he hoped Obama would win.

“Six months ago, our politicians did not believe them, but today, after the events in Georgia, the Russians’ threats should be taken seriously,” he said, adding that three different surveys of the local population showed that 70 to 75 percent were against the missile shield site.

The local population’s views appeared largely stratified by age; those who lived through a Soviet presence in Poland are anxious about having any foreign troops back in their country.

“Those who remember the communist time under the Russian Army that was stationed near here say, ‘We used to have Russians and now the Americans are coming,’” said Krzysztof Pedzich, a local translator.

Slupsk is 65 miles away from Gdansk, home of the Solidarity labor movement which helped overturn Poland’s communist system. Poland is now a member of the European Union and was among the handful of EU nations to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

“If you could see how it used to be before, the foreign army, any foreign army … is treated like an intruder,” said Pedzich, a father of four, who was studying in Gdansk during the anti-communist protests in the late 1980s.

Jennifer Carlile / msnbc.com

Graffiti on a wall in Slupsk reads “No to the U.S. Shield.”

A conquered land 
The city’s architecture tells of a tumultuous past.

Governed by Prussia and then Germany until the end of World War II, Russian forces razed most of Slupsk to the ground before the war’s end. Out of the ruins, the 16th century castle was rebuilt, along with the Witches Tower, where 18 women prisoners had been put to death by 1714. 

During a recent trip, children were feeding ducks on a lush green riverbank alongside the tower, which now houses a funky, contemporary art gallery. On the other side, laundry hung in front of a low-rise Communist tower block with “Skinheads” scrawled on its façade.

From well-maintained city gardens to an abundance of EU buntings, civic and European pride abound. But, unemployment is high and the average salary is just 2,500 Polish Zlotcych ($1,022) a month – about one-sixth lower than the national average.

For Kobylinski, the city mayor, the missile site will mean jobs while drawing American soldiers and tourists to the area, which is not on most tourist itineraries (The 65-mile train ride from Gdansk can take more than 2 1/2 hours).

Kobylinski, a member of a left-wing party, is convinced that the missile site will be built no matter who becomes the next U.S. president. So he’s backing Obama, because of what he sees as their shared liberal philosophies.

With lots of family and friends in the United States, especially in Obama’s adopted hometown of Chicago, many here have a direct interest in the U.S. election, he added.

Jennifer Carlile / msnbc.com

Zbigniew Kramek guards the Redzikowo Airfield, where the U.S. missile site will be based.

Part-politics, part-Hollywood
For others, the process is part-politics, part-entertainment.

“The election in the U.S.A. looks like a big show, or Hollywood,” said Aleksandra Rutkiewicz, 27, whose job is to promote Slupsk out of the 19th century city hall.

“I would prefer McCain because he’s not such a showman as Obama,” she said, adding that she fully supported the missile shield.

At the Redzikowo airfield only a couple of old planes and disused buildings could be seen behind a guard’s fence.

For the guard there, the choice was more basic. Will one of (the candidates) make it so we can go to the U.S. without a visa?” asked Zbigniew Kramek. “He’s the one I want.”

IN RUSSIA, OBAMA BEATS MCCAIN

By Yonatan Pomrenze, NBC News Producer

 MOSCOW – “I’m against that one – the aggressive one – I’m for Obama,” said Valentina Savina, a lottery ticket seller on the Old Arbat, Moscow’s busy central pedestrian thoroughfare.

“[I’m] against McCain,” she added when asked what her views were on the U.S. presidential candidates. “He’s against Russia.”

Alexander Maleshov, a cab driver in Moscow, agreed. “As far as I know, the Republicans are strongly against us,” he said.

VIDEO: Russians watch the U.S. election

Savina and Maleshov are not alone in their views of McCain and the GOP, according to a recent poll of Russians conducted at the beginning of September by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center. The survey found that 27 percent of respondents would choose Sen. Barack Obama if they could vote in the U.S. elections, as opposed to just 6 percent choosing Sen. John McCain.

(According to the poll, 34 percent of respondents also said, “I wouldn’t vote for anyone,” and the remaining 33 percent responded that the question was “hard to answer.”)

 

The results are partly a product of McCain’s outspoken criticism of the country and its popular prime minister – and former president – Vladimir Putin. For instance, McCain has advocated excluding Russia from the G8 in response to “diminishing political freedoms” under Putin.

They are also the result of McCain being a member of the Republican Party. In a country where the Bush administration’s policies, from the war in Iraq to the planned installation of missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, are highly unpopular, it would be hard for any GOP candidate to gain much of a following.

Georgia conflict has an effect

Also working against McCain is the conflict in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The U.S. and Russia have supported opposite sides, with the U.S. voicing strong support for Georgia and Russia backing South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two separatist regions on Georgian territory.

In many ways the Georgia War was fought on the airwaves and the television screens as much as it was on the ground, and Russians’ response to the candidates tend to follow what they heard in the Russian media.

And while both candidates were critical of Russia’s military actions on Georgian soil beyond the separatist areas, many Muscovites I spoke with quoted McCain’s statement at a campaign stop in York, Pa., when he declared that “We [Americans] are all Georgians,” as one reason for their leaning toward Obama.  

“In both cases, it will be very hard relations between United States and Russia,” said Anton Lopatin, 23, taking a lunch break on the Arbat from his job in financial services.

Many Russians agree with him. Less than a fifth of Russians respondents to the recent poll described U.S. relations as “friendly,” “neighborly” or “calm.” 

Opposite sides

Overall, the saber-rattling over Georgia has sparked a greater interest in U.S. politics and how it can affect Russia.

In the poll, 47 percent of respondent said they “closely” or “somewhat” follow the U.S. elections, up from 36 percent just two months earlier.

“America, it’s the biggest country,” said Natalia Golubeva, a 26-year-old who works in financial services, “so we are also interested in the policy … of your country.”

USA: GLOSSARIO ELETTORALE

 

Ecco un glossario, in ordine alfabetico, dei termini politici più ricorrenti in occasione delle elezioni presidenziali Usa.

BALLOT: la scheda di voto.

CAUCUS: E’ un termine pellerossa che significa ‘incontro tra capi tribu’, ed è l’assemblea di attivisti di un partito a livello di distretto: l’equivalente, in certi Stati come l’Iowa, di una elezione primaria. Nei caucus si scelgono (a volte spostandosi semplicemente da un lato all’altra di una stanza, a seconda dello schieramento) i delegati da inviare alle riunioni dello Stato cui appartengono. Questi ultimi a loro volta eleggono i delegati alla Convention.

CONVENTION: congresso di un partito che si tiene a livello statale e poi federale, in quest’ultimo caso per designare il candidato ufficiale del partito alla presidenza. Oltre ai delegati alle convention designati da caucus e primarie, vi sono i delegati istituzionali (senatori, deputati e altri), che partecipano di diritto alle convention.

COLLEGIO DEI GRANDI ELETTORI: nominati dai partiti in tutti gli Stati in numero pari ai seggi parlamentari a disposizione di ciascuno Stato, i Grandi Elettori eleggono il presidente Usa, Stato per Stato. Il candidato che vince in uno Stato prende tutti i voti dei grandi Elettori di quello Stato, con pochissime eccezioni.

NOMINATION: la designazione del candidato ufficiale di un partito.

PLATFORM: programma elettorale di un partito politico o di un singolo candidato.

PRIMARIE: le elezioni dei delegati alle Convention nazionali. Possono essere dirette, votando cioé il delegato, oppure indirette, esprimendo invece la preferenza per il candidato presidenziale. Sono anche ‘chiuse’ (closed primaries ), limitate cioé agli elettori del partito (in quasi tutti gli Stati) oppure ‘aperte’ (open primaries ) anche agli elettori di altri partiti e agli indipendenti.

RUNNING MATE: il candidato alla vicepresidenza.

STRAW POLL: Votazione simulata in seno ai caucus, spesso settimane prima della primaria vera e propria, dando una indicazione preliminare della popolarità dei candidati. Il più famoso è quello di Ames in Iowa condotto tra i repubblicani circa un anno prima del voto presidenziale.

TERM: il mandato presidenziale, quadriennale, o qualsiasi altro mandato.

TICKET: la coppia dei candidati alla presidenza e alla vicepresidenza.

TURNOUT: la percentuale di affluenza alle urne.

VOTING MACHINE: la macchina usata per votare, premendo una leva o schiacciando un bottone per un candidato, che non pochi problemi creò nelle ultime elezioni presidenziali del 2000. Adesso è sempre più diffuso il voto toccando il nome del candidato sullo schermo, tipo bancomat ‘touch screen’.

Election game

 

“Mock elections” nelle scuole americane: ha vinto Obama

Obama ha vinto le elezioni…nelle scuole

Una tradizione nata nel dopoguerra: svolgere delle simulazioni delle elezioni presidenziali nelle scuole superiori americane, allo scopo di educare i ragazzi al voto e spingerli ad iscriversi nelle liste elettorali non appena raggiunta la maggiore età.
Queste “mock elections” vengono prese sul serio, tanto che ogni scuola comunica i risultati, su cui poi viene fatta una media. Quest’anno Obama ha vinto con circa il 55% dei voti, e oltre 10 punti di vantaggio su McCain.
Il risultato non desta meraviglia, in quanto non è certo una novità che Obama riscontri il consenso dei giovani.
Interessante è, però, il fatto che negli ultimi 60 anni solo due volte le “mock elections” hanno avuto risultati diversi da quelli delle vere elezioni: nel 1948, quando gli studenti votarono per Thomas Dewey (ma quella fu una delle elezioni più incerte della storia, tanto che il Chicago Tribune andò in stampa il giorno dopo il voto annunciando la vittoria di Dewey) e nel 1960, quandi i ragazzi preferirono Nixon a Kennedy (ma votarono prima dei dibattiti televisivi che diedero la spinta decisiva a JFK).
Nelle due elezioni precedenti quest’ultima, i giovani hanno, a sorpresa, votato per George W. Bush, contraddicendo così buona parte dei sondaggi, soprattutto nel 2000. Il motivo, secondo gli analisti, è che i ragazzi votano seguendo quanto sentono dire dai propri genitori.

Se tutto questo è vero e oggi hanno votato Obama…..

Domani il “grande giorno”

Brogli, code, macchinette in tilt, con Twitter la gente controlla il voto

(segnalato da Lucyintheskywd)

Macchine elettroniche in tilt, file interminabili ai seggi, esclusione di cittadini dalle liste elettorali. A pochi giorni dal voto, si moltiplicano i timori che le elezioni presidenziali americane possano produrre una lunga scia di contestazioni durante e dopo il 4 novembre. Del resto, la battaglia sul diritto al voto è già in corso da qualche settimana: dopo che il Partito Repubblicano ha denunciato l’iscrizione alle liste elettorali di migliaia di nomi falsi da parte dell’associazion no-profit Acorn il New York Times ha rivelato che nelle ultime settimane almeno sei stati (Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada e North Carolina) hanno cancellato dalle liste elettorali decine di migliaia di votanti.

E così mentre i comitati elettorali di Obama e McCain si scambiano accuse reciproche, la blogosfera produce strumenti di monitoraggio delle procedure di voto indipendenti dalle machine di partito. A guadagnare terreno nelle ultime due settimane è stato Twitter Vote Report, un’applicazione basata su Twitter che permetterà agli elettori di postare sul web brevi messaggi sull’andamento del voto nel proprio seggio. Tramite un cellulare o un palmare collegato a internet chiunque dsiponga di un account su twitter. com potrà postare un testo non superiore ai 140 caratteri segnalando tre tipologie di problemi: la lunghezza della fila al proprio seggio; eventuali malfunzionamenti delle machine elettroniche o a scansione ottica; ed eventuali contestazioni legate alla mancata iscrizione di uno o più elettori nelle liste elettorali.

Homer Simpson tries to vote for Obama

Obama song

Elezioni USA, conto alla rovescia

Sondaggi thrilling, McCain recupera
E spunta la zia illegale di Obama

I due candidati divisi da pochi punti. I democratici: «Restituiti i soldi della sorellastra del padre di Barack»

Corriere della Sera
01 novembre 2008

 

NEW YORK – Un week-end di paura. Archiviato Halloween, per il partito democratico la vera fibrillazione inizia adesso, a tre giorni dallo storico voto di martedì 4 novembre. Il campanello d’allarme arriva dal sondaggio Zogby che per la prima volta da mesi vede il candidato repubblicano John McCain avanti al rivale Barack Obama nelle rilevazioni fatte nella giornata di venerdì 31 ottobre. John Zogby parla di «sostanziale stabilità nel rapporto tra Obama e McCain», con il primo ancora in vantaggio di 5 punti sul secondo, sottolineando però che «venerdì il repubblicano ha superato il democratico 48 a 47». Per Zogby il senatore dell’Illinois scivola così al di sotto della soglia, considerata assolutamente sicura, del 50%, dove si mantiene però in tutti gli altri rilevamenti (52% per Gallup e CBS-NYT, 51% per Rasmussen).

SONDAGGI – Ma che la forbice dei sondaggi si stia restringendo vicino al traguardo (una costante, peraltro, di tutte le elezioni presidenziali Usa) è confermato anche dall’istituto Rasmussen secondo cui il distacco tra i due candidati è ora ridotto a soli 4 punti, (51% a 47%), mentre all’inizio della settimana Obama guidava la corsa con 7 punti di vantaggio, e il distacco era di 13 punti nelle prime settimane di ottobre. A tre giorni dall’Election Day le previsioni sui voti elettorali dei vari Stati, il vero termometro della corsa alla Casa Bianca, vedono il democratico sempre saldamente in testa, ben oltre i 270 voti necessari per vincere. Per Zogby, Obama ha in tasca 286 voti elettorali contro i 174 di McCain; per Politico e New York Times il rapporto è, rispettivamente 353 a 185 e 291 a 163.

TOUR-DE-FORCE – Mentre la Cnn ha già cominciato il conto alla rovescia (fornendo in un angolo dello schermo i giorni, ore e minuti dalla chiusura dei seggi) i due candidati hanno intrapreso l’ultima maratona prima del voto. Dopo una sosta a Chicago per festeggiare Halloween con le figlie, Sasha e Malia (con un piccolo scontro verbale con i paparazzi che li perseguitavano), Obama visiterà tre stati rossi: Missouri, Colorado e Nevada. Domenica sarà tutto il giorno in Ohio, per un comizio-concerto a Cleveland con Bruce Springsteen mentre gli ultimi comizi di lunedì, prima del voto, sono in programma negli stati chiave di Florida e Virginia. Tour-de-force finale anche per McCain che nonostante la tosse e una forte raucedine nei prossimi tre giorni visiterà ben otto Stati, con un blitz a New York per partecipare allo show satirico Saturday Night Live, prima di chiudere la campagna elettorale lunedì con un comizio di mezzanotte in Arizona, lo stato di cui è senatore. Ma con una mossa audace e provocatoria Obama ha bombardato di spot proprio l’Arizona, in uno sforzo di umiliare l’avversario in casa, adesso che i sondaggi lo danno tra gli stati in bilico.

ZIA ILLEGALE – A mettere in difficoltà Obama ci pensa uno scandalo tirato fuori dal London Times del magnate ultraconservatore Rupert Murdoch e cavalcato dalla AP, già nel mirino perché il capo del suo desk politico è un repubblicano che ha lavorato per McCain. Secondo la più importante agenzia di stampa Usa, la 56enne zia di Barack Obama Zeituni Onyango, (sorellastra del padre che vive da quattro anni in una casa popolare per handicappati alla periferia di Boston), avrebbe violato ben due volte la legge. La prima in quanto immigrata clandestina, la seconda elargendo piccole donazioni a favore del nipote, illegali poiché è straniera. Il candidato, che la nomina nella sua autobiografia Sogni di Mio Padre, l’aveva conosciuta da bambino in Kenya e rivista poi occasionalmente quando era venuta negli Usa con un visto turistico. «Non sapevo che viveva qui illegalmente. Ovviamente bisogna seguire le leggi», ha replicato Obama. Ma quando la notizia ha iniziato a dominare le tv all news, lo staff di Obama è stato costretto a precisare di aver «già restituito le piccole donazioni di Zia Zeituni, un totale di 260 dollari, a più riprese».

PARTITA BARACK-SCHWARZY – Per voltare pagina, Obama lancia una divertente sfida ad Arnold Schwarzenegger: incontriamoci sul campo di basket. Una battuta scherzosa con cui il candidato democratico ha replicato alla battuta del governatore della California che a un comizio di John McCain aveva osservato che Obama «ha bisogno di fare qualcosa per quelle gambe così magroline: deve fare un po’ di esercizio». «La cosa veramente difficile – aveva aggiunto l’ex culturista – è dare spessore alle sue idee». Non è la prima sfida a basket che Obama lancia al campo avversario: in settembre aveva chiesto a Sarah Palin, soprannominata Barracuda quando giocava a pallacanestro nella squadra del liceo, di incontrarlo sul campo per un match che, aveva spiegato, «batterebbe tutti gli indici di ascolto».