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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm SteveEmber.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. This week, we examine the events aheadin the race for the presidential election in the United States.

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VOICE ONE:

Americans elect a president every four years. Election Day thisyear is November second.

Republicans will gather in New York City at the end of August tonominate President Bush for a second term. Two terms is the limitunder the Constitution.

Democrats will hold their convention at the end of July inBoston, Massachusetts. Howard Dean has been leading the candidatesfor the Democratic nomination. But the former governor of Vermonthas eight opponents -- most notably, Wesley Clark, who has beengaining support. The candidates have campaigned for months. But thenominating process is just beginning. What happens this month isimportant.

VOICE TWO:

On January nineteenth, party meetings called caucuses will takeplace in Iowa. People will gather in homes and public buildings allover the state to choose the person they want to lead the country.But they do not vote for a candidate like in a primary election.

Instead, they elect local delegates. Each delegate electedrepresents a percentage of support from their local area for apresidential candidate. As the process continues, delegates electother delegates to represent them. Those chosen at state conventionsin Iowa then attend the national nominating convention of theirparty.

For years, party leaders decided the nominees at the nationalconventions. But now the events are largely ceremonial. Votes at thestate level decide who will compete for president long before theconventions begin.

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VOICE ONE:

In each election year, the Iowa caucuses are a first test ofpublic approval for a candidate. But some political expertscriticize the Iowa caucuses. They call them strange and indirect.

This year, two of the nine Democratic candidates are notcompeting in Iowa. They are retired Army General Wesley Clark andConnecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. They are saving their moneyand energy for later events.

Iowa public opinion changes from day to day. But Howard Dean,Congressman Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Senator John Kerry ofMassachusetts all have strong support.

VOICE TWO:

Public opinion research shows that Senator John Edwards of NorthCarolina and Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio have little chanceto win in Iowa. The same can be said for the Reverend Al Sharpton ofNew York and former Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois.

Still, these candidates for the Democratic nomination have chosento compete in Iowa. They remember that in nineteen-seventy-six, alittle-known candidate, the former governor of Georgia, won the Iowacaucuses. Jimmy Carter went on to become the thirty-ninth presidentof the United States.

VOICE ONE:

After Iowa, people will look to see who wins the New Hampshireprimary. New Hampshire holds its primary election on Januarytwenty-seventh. Some say the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshireprimary may decide the Democratic nomination. They say that ifHoward Dean wins both events, he could soon have enough delegates tosecure the nomination.

Other states and territories will hold their own nominatingevents in the coming weeks and months. But candidates who do poorlythis month may leave the race before long. They will find itdifficult to raise enough money to continue their campaigns.

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VOICE TWO:

Howard Dean is a medical doctor.He served in the Vermont House of Representatives and later aslieutenant governor. He became governor in nineteen-ninety-one. Intwo-thousand he signed a bill to make Vermont the only state topermit civil unions between people of the same sex. Civil unionsoffer the same legal protections as marriage.

Doctor Dean served as governor of the small state in theNortheast until January of last year. As a presidential candidate,he strongly opposed the war in Iraq.

Since he opened his campaign, supporters have provided him withlarge amounts of money through the Internet. He raised at leastfifteen-million dollars in the last three months alone.

VOICE ONE:

Wesley Clark entered thecompetition several months after the other candidates. But somepolitical experts believe he has the best chance against DoctorDean. Wesley Clark earned military honors in the Vietnam War. And hewas a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England.

General Clark rose in leadership positions in the Army. Beforeretiring, he served as NATO commander. He led NATO troops during theoperations against Serbian forces in Kosovo.

Like Howard Dean, Wesley Clark has also proven his ability toraise money. He collected at least ten-million dollars during thelast three months.

VOICE TWO:

John Kerry received many honors for his military service duringthe Vietnam War. But later he opposed that war. He is now servinghis fourth term in the Senate.

As president, he says he would try to reduce American dependenceon oil from the Middle East. He says his plan also would create ahalf-million jobs in new energy industries.

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VOICE ONE:

Dick Gephardt is the former Democratic Party leader in the Houseof Representatives. He has served twenty-six years in the House.Over the years he has won major labor-union support for his effortsto defend American workers.

Mister Gephardt sought the Democratic presidential nomination innineteen-eighty-eight. At that time, he won the Iowa caucuses.

VOICE TWO:

Candidates for the presidential nomination of the two majorparties have mainly been white, male and Protestant Christian. Thisyear two of the candidates are African American: Carol Moseley Braunand Al Sharpton. And Joe Lieberman is the first Jewish candidate.John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich are both Roman Catholic.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Lieberman has served more than fourteen years in theSenate. Many say he is the candidate whose policies are closest tothose of former President Bill Clinton. He was the vice presidentialcandidate of Al Gore in the election of two-thousand. But, in thiselection, Mister Gore has given his support to Howard Dean.

VOICE TWO:

Carol Moseley Braun was the first black woman in the Senate.Later President Clinton appointed her ambassador to New Zealand.

Al Sharpton campaigned several times for public office in NewYork, but was never elected. He established a civil rights group innineteen-ninety-one.

John Edwards is the youngest candidate for the Democraticnomination. He is fifty years old. The former trial lawyer isserving his first term as a senator from North Carolina.

In nineteen-seventy-seven, Dennis Kucinich became mayor ofCleveland, Ohio, at the age of thirty one. He was the youngest mayorever elected in a large American city. Today, the congressmanopposes the World Trade Organization and the North American FreeTrade Agreement. That agreement is ten years old this month.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Kucinich also opposed the war in Iraq, as did Howard Dean,Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. Wesley Clark says PresidentBush involved the United States in unnecessary conflict. But at onetime he also said he would have voted for the war. RepresentativeGephardt and Senators Lieberman, Edwards and Kerry all did so.

All the candidates have criticized the Bush administration forits handling of Iraq since the end of major fighting there.

VOICE TWO:

But right now President Bush is not the only target forcriticism. So is Howard Dean as the other Democrats compete againsthis popularity for the nomination in July.

Then will come the campaign for Election Day in November.Generally speaking, experts describe America as equally divided onmajor political issues. As evidence they point, for example, to theclose results in the two-thousand election.

Public opinion research shows that a majority of Americansapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as president. Politicalexperts note that the improving economy and the capture of SaddamHussein have helped those approval ratings. There have also beenrecent gains in Mister Bush's lead among likely voters over HowardDean and the other Democratic candidates.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by CatyWeaver.I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.