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Issue 14 News Updates

• Iowa kicked off the presidential election season on January 3. Its caucuses gave Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee a big boost. The two winning candidates stood out in the field for their lighter approaches to the campaigns and their determination to stick to the positive. Both men emphasized hope for a better world and talked about the country's need for change. Obama attracted a large number of young voters in Iowa, while Huckabee drew on his conservative, evangelical base. Their Iowa victory speeches were both powerful while reflecting two very different styles (watch those speeches here: Obama, Huckabee).

• New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary was the next big stop, and suddenly the candidates were looking at a whole new ballgame. Republican John McCain, whose campaign nearly foundered last year, pulled off a huge upset in New Hampshire on January 8 after coming in fourth in Iowa. On the Democrats' side, Hillary Clinton shifted her campaign style to a more personal and emotional approach after coming in third in Iowa, and she, too, pulled off a come-from-behind victory in the granite state.

• Michigan Republicans gave the next win to Mitt Romney . It's the state where Romney was born and where his father was governor during the 1960s. McCain was second among Republicans on January 15, followed by Huckabee. Click here for more details and an explanation of the Democratic outcome. Romney also won Wyoming, but he'll only get half the delegates because the state broke party rules.

• Nevada and South Carolina were up next, with Nevada's caucuses and South Carolina's Republican primary both on Jan. 19. See the CE News Blog for the outcome and for future updates on the primary races.

• There's a lot at stake this presidential election year. Your students will be hearing about political issues and candidates' beliefs and character as we race toward Election Day, some of it true and some of it less-than-positive mudslinging. To get the news your students need without all the static, stick with the Current Events  news blog and Weekly Reader's Road to the White House Election Center. From the CE News Blog, click the 2008 campaign button link to get to the Election Center, or go directly to www.weeklyreader.com/election. Students can use the Election Center to read about the candidates, look up election terms, learn fast facts about U.S. elections and the states, ask questions, take quizzes, and even play games! There also will be a calendar showing the dates of each state's primaries or caucuses so your classes can keep track of the candidates' progress.

• The election field is changing fast. Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, who made illegal immigation his big issue, dropped out of the race in December. After the Iowa caucuses, Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut also dropped out. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson left the race after coming in fourth in New Hampshire. Two more candidates dropped out of the race after the Nevada and South Carolina results were in: Duncan Hunter, a Republican congressman from California, and actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, a Republican who came in third in both Iowa and South Carolina. That still leaves a lot of candidates in the running!
  • Here's a presidential Smart Stuff to get your students started! Click to download it.
  • For more issue-related updates and web-only content, check out the CE News Blog.
  • The Issue 14 Teacher's Guide is available online.
  • NOTICE: Due to a production problem, the poster that was to ship with Issue 14 will ship with Issue 15 instead. We regret the error and hope it isn't an inconvenience. Two suggestions for election-related activies are posted on the resources page, reachable from the 'Resources' link above. Thank you to the teachers who notified us of the error.
  
  
  

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