By Wednesday, barring any unforeseen circumstances like those that occurred in the 2000 election, the U.S. should have a new commander in chief. As you follow the election coverage in the paper this week, consider how the new president will affect the lives of citizens and businesses. Then, in a paragraph, describe a specific citizen (e.g., a [...]

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Read USA TODAY’s coverage of either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain. Choose one of the candidates and list and briefly describe his views on five different issues. (If you need additional information, visit the candidate’s website). Next, interview one conservative, one moderate and one liberal voter and ask, “If you HAD to vote [...]

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Satires use irony, exaggeration and wit to poke fun at a person or group. Saturday Night Live’s satires of the presidential and vice presidential candidates have used the device to brilliant effect. (NBC’s video of the mock vice presidential debate has received over 5 million hits.) The show has also speared candidates with its mock [...]

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Historically, presidential hopefuls have had to be both politicians and entertainers. And the two major-party candidates in this year’s presidential election are no different — Obama has been "communing with Oprah and posing for Annie Leibovitz (for yet another cover of Men’s Vogue)," and McCain has been seen "grilling ribs with Rachael Ray, snarking with [...]

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Last Thursday night Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palen engaged in the only vice-presidential debate of this presidential election. This week, collect articles in USA TODAY that focus on the affects of the VP debate and on the merits of the VP candidates. After reading the articles, engage in a debate. Students who believe [...]

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Groups like Factcheck.org and PolitiFact.com spearhead efforts to verify the claims that political candidates make in their speeches, ads, debates and press conferences. Adopt the role of a political fact-checker and explore the election articles in this week’s USA TODAY. (There will be plenty of articles about the September 26 presidential debate.) Next, find a [...]

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You have probably heard that Wall Street is experiencing a crisis. In the last several weeks, the federal government has given an $85 billion dollar loan to AIG, an insurance provider on the verge of collapse, and has taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two ailing mortgage lenders. Moreover, the financial crisis has forced [...]

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Both Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin have been criticized for their lack of foreign policy experience. In small groups, imagine that you are prepping either Obama or Palin for a foreign policy press conference. Using information from USA TODAY, identify five foreign policy issues that the next administration [...]

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Every political candidate, like every human being, has weak points. One difficult task that candidates face is to minimize their weaknesses, or better yet, turn them into strengths. For example, in this election, John McCain has had to fight the notion that he is too old to lead while Barack Obama has had to answer [...]

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The Republican National Convention, which begins Monday, will focus on the goals of service, reform, prosperity and peace. Read USA TODAY to find out how the Republicans hope to emphasize service, reform government and bring prosperity and peace to the country. Next, for each goal, summarize the Republicans’ plan in one sentence. Finally, create an [...]

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