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The U.S. on Tuesday elects a new president who will take office on January 20. Koreans are paying keen attention considering the enormous impact on the situation the new leader of the Western alliance will have on the Korean Peninsula, including ways of dealing with the worldwide economic crisis and the North Korean nuclear problem.
¡ß Obama leads
This is the first race between a black and a white candidate. Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who leads with more than 50 percent in all polls, ahead of Republican candidate John McCain by about 5 to 6 percentage points, would be the first black U.S. president.
The winner will be known after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, or noon on Wednesday in Korea, when the voting in the Southeastern and Midwestern regions, where they are neck-and-neck, is complete.
¡ß Voter turnout likely over 60%
Voter turnout is expected to be more than 60 percent, given the race between black and white candidates, the emergence of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the female Republican running mate, and the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression.
AP reports that 27 million absentee and early votes were already cast by Saturday evening, reflecting voters' unusually high interest in the election. Obama and McCain have spent a whopping US$1 billion on their campaigns, or $8 per voter, according to some statistics. In 2004, per capita campaign funds were a mere $5.50.
The election of 35 of the 100 senators, all 435 members of the House of Representatives, and 11 governors will be conducted the same day.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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