U.S. presidential election, 2008

The U.S. presidential election of 2008 is scheduled to occur on November 4, 2008. The election will determine the 44th {{ref|Bush}} President of the United States. The allocation of electoral votes to each state will remain the same for this election as it was for the election in 2004, relying on the 2000 Census. The winner will be sworn-in on January 20, 2009.

The shape of presidential battles

Recent elections have revolved around the dominant Republican and Democratic parties although many candidates seek election to the presidency. In recent presidential elections, however, minor parties such as the Green, Libertarian, and Reform parties, as well as Ross Perot's 1992 independent candidacy, have sometimes affected both the tone of the campaigns and the outcome of the election. Modern third parties allow a broad choice to voters who doubt that their views are represented by either of the major parties. They can, as they have in the past, siphon votes from a major party that otherwise would have gone to it, creating a relative gain for the other major party. Many political observers believe that in the 2000 race the extremely close vote counts for Gore and Bush in Florida were affected by the votes that went instead to other parties (mainly the Green Party) and that the outcome might have been different if they were not on the ballot.

Related Topics:
Republican - Democratic - Green - Libertarian - Reform - Ross Perot

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In 2008, President Bush will be prohibited from seeking a third term by Amendment XXII to the US Constitution. In the last three eight-year administrations, the incumbent vice president has gone on to run for president at the end of the eight years: Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, Ronald Reagan's vice president George H. W. Bush in the 1988 election and Bill Clinton's vice president Al Gore in the 2000 election.

Related Topics:
President Bush - Amendment XXII - US Constitution - Dwight D. Eisenhower - Richard Nixon - 1960 election - Ronald Reagan - George H. W. Bush - 1988 election - Bill Clinton - Al Gore - 2000 election

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However, current Vice President Dick Cheney announced in 2001 that he would never run for President. In 2008 he will be 67 years old. In 2004, while appearing on Fox News Sunday, he said: "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say ... 'If nominated, I will not run,' 'If elected, I will not serve,' or not only no, but 'Hell no,' I've got my plans laid out. I'm going to serve this president for the next four years, and then I'm out of here." Nonetheless, Bob Woodward raised eyebrows in 2005 by stating that Cheney was a "serious darkhorse" candidate for the GOP nomination 2008 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000920885 and later predicting that the nominees in 2008 would be Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Dick Cheney for the Republicans http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050810/NEWS/108100041.

Related Topics:
Vice President - Dick Cheney - Bob Woodward - Darkhorse - GOP

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Assuming that George W. Bush, who was re-elected in 2004, remains in office through 2008, the 2008 race will be a non-incumbent or open seat election: one in which a sitting president is not a candidate. Furthermore, if Cheney does not run (and assuming he serves his full term), the 2008 race will be the first time since 1928 that neither the sitting president nor the sitting vice president is a candidate for president. (The 1952 general election between Eisenhower and Stevenson also did not include a sitting president or vice president, but sitting Vice President Alben Barkley had been a nominee for the Democratic ticket.)

Related Topics:
1928 - 1952 - Eisenhower - Stevenson - Alben Barkley

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