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California's budget : No money to pay the bills (09 October 05:18) |
| The state’s finances are worsening by the dayTWO weeks ago Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor, signed a state budget that was a record 85 days late. Much cajoling and b... |
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The candidates at home (2): Mean streets (09 October 05:18) |
| The Democrat’s most vulnerable point is also his strongest base“BARACK OBAMA, born of the corrupt Chicago political machine”, begins a sinister voice in a McCain advertisem... |
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The bail-out bill: Someone to watch over me (09 October 05:18) |
| The bail-out law brings more oversight of the Fed and the financial systemTHE 451-page bail-out bill passed by Congress on October 3rd contained reams of extraneous stuff, ranging from $150 ... |
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The candidates at home (1): A moderate among hotheads (09 October 05:18) |
| Why Arizonans aren’t as keen as they might be on John McCainIN A Paradise Valley shopping mall, Martin Dunleavy takes a break from the scorching Arizona sun. He is wearing a cap emblaz... |
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The economy and the election: It’s an ill wind (09 October 05:18) |
| As the economy sags, Barack Obama’s electoral prospects soarIN A small town in Pennsylvania, where the liquor store is called “Beer World”, the mini-golf course has a Statu... |
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Swing states: Indiana: Hoosier Daddy? (09 October 05:18) |
| A state that dislikes change may contemplate it after allAT MIDDAY in downtown Indianapolis, Kathy Vari leads 50 schoolchildren out of the City-County Building, each wearing a sticker readin... |
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Lexington: Debating the debates (09 October 05:18) |
| They are unpredictable and often unfair. But there is no better test of a candidateAT FIRST, Richard Nixon vowed he would not debate John Kennedy. He had little to gain from such an encounte... |
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The US-Mexican border: Good neighbours make fences (02 October 05:41) |
| America is building a border barrier that is both too tight and not tight enoughFOR the past four years Steve Johnston has been dropping food, water and socks in the Sonoran desert. They are... |
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Introduction: The battle of hope and experience (02 October 05:41) |
| Will America choose the old hero who favours tax cuts for business and the rich and backed George Bush’s wars? Or the young man who promises health care for all, a swift exit from Iraq... |
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Bail-out politics, continued: While Wall Street burns (02 October 05:41) |
| Lawmakers fiddle, then reach for the fire-hoseWHEN Congress does nothing, Americans usually breathe a sigh of relief. But when the House of Representatives failed to pass a rescue package fo... |
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After the storm: Politics and petrol problems (02 October 05:41) |
| The Gulf coast is still recovering from hurricane seasonTHE end of September saw a crisis on Wall Street and a garbled response from Congress. No wonder, then, that all eyes were trained on ... |
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Lobbyists and the election: The war over lobbyists (02 October 05:41) |
| Or, pots denouncing kettlesLOBBYING in America is at least as old as the countrya€™s constitution. In 1792 veterans of the American revolution hired William Hull to petition Congre... |
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The Economist's poll of economists: Examining the candidates (02 October 05:41) |
| In our special report on the election we analyse the two candidatesa€™ economic plans. Here, we ask professional economists to give us their viewsAS THE financial crisis pushes the... |
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Lexington: Reaping the whirlwind (02 October 05:41) |
| George Busha€™s presidency is ending in disasterPLENTY of people can be blamed for the calamity on Capitol Hill on September 29th. Two-hundred and twenty-eight congressmen decided ... |
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The politics of the bail-out: The candidates intervene (25 September 05:38) |
| The battle to save the financial system has now become part of the presidential raceJOBS will be lost, homes will be foreclosed, America will stumble into a recession and the economy will no... |
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Swing states: Michigan: The centre of the storm (25 September 05:38) |
| Michigan is at the heart of the debate over the economyECONOMIC gloom is no stranger to Michigan’s cities. A house in Detroit was recently sold for one dollar. But now despair extends ... |
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Giving: Billanthropy squared (25 September 05:38) |
| A big week for Bill Clinton and Bill Gates AROUND this time every year, New York’s traffic grinds to a halt as the police make the city safe for an influx of global dignitaries. It was... |
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Campaign finance: And the money came rolling in (25 September 05:38) |
| Surprisingly, John McCain is doing as well as Barack ObamaDESPITE America’s complex campaign-finance laws, the country’s presidential candidates still bring in a lot of money. Mo... |
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New York City finances: Economic fallout (25 September 05:38) |
| When Wall Street sneezes, New York catches coldDESPITE a bit of grumbling that the federal bail-out of Wall Street is a handout to the wealthy, most New Yorkers realise the crisis affects ev... |
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Rural voters: Bucolic ballots (25 September 05:38) |
| Could the economy trump the Palin effect?THE population of Whitesburg, Kentucky is “1,534 friendly people plus two grouches”, according to the sign outside. The people here are w... |
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Early voting: The beginning of the end (25 September 05:38) |
| The polls are opening; soon this election will be decidedELECTION day is on November 4th, more than a month away. Anything could happen between now and then. There is a crisis unfolding on W... |
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Lexington: President Hank (25 September 05:38) |
| Henry Paulson is the most important man in WashingtonTHE Treasury was always intended to be at the heart of the American government. George Washington’s first Cabinet appointment was h... |
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Lexington: Richard Milhous McCain (18 September 05:35) |
| Americans cannot escape from the shadow of Tricky DickMODERN Republicans admire no one more than Ronald Reagan, the man who, in their view, destroyed communism, rolled back welfare-state lib... |
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The financial crisis and the election: The politics of despair (18 September 05:35) |
| Wall Street’s meltdown readjusts the race in unexpected waysWITH an investment bank failing, an insurance giant needing a bail-out, the Dow tumbling and panic gripping Wall Street, Bar... |
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Campaign donations: Writing cheques, hedging bets (18 September 05:35) |
| A surge in corporate money for the DemocratsAUGUST was the best money-spinning month so far for the presidential candidates. In that month both men beat their fund-raising records. John McCa... |
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The election campaign: Heard on the stump (18 September 05:35) |
| The eye of the beholder
“I left his eyes red and his skin looking bad.” Jill Greenberg, a celebrity photographer and Democrat, deliberately took a series of unflattering shots o... |
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Swing states: Virginia: Of pigs and polls (18 September 05:35) |
| Barack Obama and John McCain are evenly matched in the Old DominionTHE crowd in the school gym was ecstatic. Barack Obama won them over long before he even showed up. But the locals watching... |
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Ballot initiatives: Goading the enemy (18 September 05:35) |
| Some proposals will fall victim to their own outrageousnessONE of the entertaining things about the American political system is the hearing it affords cranks and zealots. In about half of t... |
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Hurricane Ike: Please send ice (18 September 05:35) |
| The Gulf coast of Texas is slowly picking up after another hurricaneIT WAS a beautiful, breezy afternoon, and Jeff and Lisa Frechette were determined to enjoy it. Granted, they were sitting ... |
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Swing states: Wisconsin: Of beer and bikers (11 September 04:34) |
| John McCain faces a tough fight among the cheeseheadsTAMMY WYNEN stands near the back of a crowd outside a paper mill in Kimberly, Wisconsin. At a bank of microphones, speakers rail against ... |
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Slow food: Revolutionaries by the Bay (11 September 04:34) |
| If America is what it eats, then at least one part of it has changedTOURISTS who took a wrong turn on their way to San Francisco’s cable car recently were in for a shock. There, betwe... |
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Lexington: The triumph of feminism (11 September 04:34) |
| America’s feminists may have lost a battle or two. But they are winning the warTHIS was supposed to be the year in which America’s feminists celebrated the shattering of the high... |
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Voting machines: A farewell to chads (11 September 04:34) |
| Ballots and voting machines are getting better, but still have a fair way to goRICHARD SMOLKA smiles as he talks of a ballot he heard of in Oklahoma. Election officials, he claims, reprinted... |
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Nimbyism: Train wreck in suburbia (11 September 04:34) |
| China quietly builds, America noisily deliberates: why Barrington is not BeijingCHINA, as anyone with a television now knows, builds big. This can have a huge human cost. For the Olympics, n... |
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Books in Wyoming: Why cowboys read (11 September 04:34) |
| The land of mountains and cattle boasts some of America’s best public librariesBURNS is a tiny town in southern Wyoming surrounded by wheat fields and ranches. It has a school, a water... |
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Evangelical voters: The born-again block (11 September 04:34) |
| The Democrats are having a lot of trouble wooing evangelical votersAS BARACK OBAMA and John McCain move into the final two months of this longest of elections, white evangelical or “bo... |
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Airport slots: Unfriendly skies (11 September 04:34) |
| The government’s flight plan is temporarily groundedANYONE travelling to or from JFK, Newark, or LaGuardia, the New York area’s three main airports, is probably used to long dela... |
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The economy: In need of more Band-Aids (04 September 06:00) |
| A poor second half could boost the odds of more stimulusTHE American economy entered the summer on a strong note as GDP grew by an annualised 3.3% in the second quarter. That figure, release... |
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Lexington: The woman from nowhere (04 September 06:00) |
| John McCain’s choice of running-mate raises serious questions about his judgmentTHE most audacious move of the race so far is also, potentially, the most self-destructive. John McCain&... |
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Swing states: Minnesota: A polka-dot place (04 September 06:00) |
| A formerly reliable Democratic state is now much less soON A hot summer day at Shady Oak Lake, teenagers line up for the high-diving board. Parents with small children wade in the shallows n... |
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Ron Paul’s campaign: Another old Republican (04 September 06:00) |
| A boisterous alternative convention targets NAFTA and the FedHIS movements were monitored by Republican organisers, and his supporters were muzzled at the Republican convention. Michael Moor... |
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The Republican convention: The maverick and the hockey mom (04 September 06:00) |
| Republicans are more fired up than before, but less so than DemocratsBEFORE Barack Obama’s big open-air speech in Denver last week, some Christian conservatives prayed for rain. That w... |
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Examining Alaska (2): The challenger (04 September 06:00) |
| Running against a senator who is about to stand trial is harder than it looksSINCE being elected mayor of Anchorage in 2003, Mark Begich has acquired a reputation for getting things done. On... |
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Examining Alaska (1): From pork to petrodollars (04 September 06:00) |
| Sarah Palin’s home state is awash with moneyJOHN MCCAIN’S decision to anoint Sarah Palin as his running-mate looks eccentric for many reasons. Not the least is economic principle... |
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Hurricane Gustav: Could have been worse (04 September 06:00) |
| New Orleans dodges another natural disasterBY THE time Nathan Reese realised that New Orleans was really being evacuated, his neighbours in St Bernard parish had already cleared out. He scra... |
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The Democratic convention: (28 August 05:05) |
| Barack Obama struggled this week to unite his partyTHERE were two conventions in Denver this week. One was a joyful event. Cheered on by throngs of jubilant activists, the Democratic Party&#... |
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The campaign trail: (28 August 05:05) |
| Gilding the lily“To give them haircuts and make them all spiffed up for the Democratic National Convention, because they’re part of our community as well.” ... |
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The campaign trail: Conventional wisdom (28 August 05:05) |
| Gilding the lily“To give them haircuts and make them all spiffed up for the Democratic National Convention, because they’re part of our community as well.” ... |
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The Democratic convention: Flags, cheers, discipline and doubt (28 August 05:05) |
| Barack Obama struggled this week to unite his partyTHERE were two conventions in Denver this week. One was a joyful event. Cheered on by throngs of jubilant activists, the Democratic Party&#... |
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Lexington: Joebama (28 August 05:05) |
| Joe Biden brings both strengths and weaknesses to the Democratic ticketHIS first run for the presidency collapsed, in 1987, after a bizarre act of plagiarism. Bizarre because Joe Biden not o... |
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