The Race Is On

By Nelida Gonzalez Cutler

All 10 Democratic candidates for President recently got together for the first time at a debate in New York City.

The biggest race in politics is a long, grueling marathon. It is measured in days spent crisscrossing the country, endless hours of town hall meetings and precious minutes of television appearances. The finish line is a little more than 400 days away.

The Presidential election is scheduled for November 2, 2004. Candidates for the job of President start campaigning months--even years--before the big day. Along the way, they must overcome many hurdles, including a series of smaller elections that eliminate the slower runners.

On Thursday, the 10 candidates vying for the Democratic party's nomination for President looked earnestly into the TV cameras. In their third televised debate, the candidates laid out their views on the state of the nation's economy. For the first time, Carol Moseley Braun, Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Richard Gephardt, Bob Graham, John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, Joseph Lieberman and Al Sharpton were assembled in one room for a debate.

The candidates had two hours to impress voters. Dean came out swinging. He accused politicians of promising too much. "We cannot win (that way)," he said.

THE POLITICAL SEASON

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, appeared on The Tonight Show to talk about the campaign.

The first real test of the Democratic candidates' popularity won't come until January. That's when the District of Columbia and New Hampshire will hold their primaries and Iowa its caucuses. Traditionally, candidates who do well in these early contests go on to win their party's nomination. The Des Moines Register, Iowa's largest daily newspaper, is keeping track of the time that candidates have spent in the state. As of September 15, former Vermont Governor Dean led the pack with 38 visits.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will still have to beat President George W. Bush, who has not yet started to formally campaign for reelection. "The political season will come in its own time," says Bush. "I've got a job to do."

Still, the President is not sitting quietly in the White House. He is visiting states and attending fund-raisers. Since becoming President, Bush has been to Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and Michigan more than 10 times each. These large states are key to winning the election.

READY FOR THE LONG ROAD AHEAD
Clark, a retired four-star general, is generating a lot of excitement. Within 24 hours of getting into the race on September 17, Clark had a long list of members of Congress who pledged to support him. Former President Bill Clinton has declared that his wife, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, and Clark are the "two stars" of the Democratic party.

On September 30, the candidates will release the figures for how much money they have collected for their campaigns. The totals are an important way to measure each candidate's popularity.

Some of the Democratic presidential candidates pose before participating in a debate.

Once the candidates get through the primaries, they have to get their party's nomination at a national convention. The conventions are huge, expensive gatherings held during the summer. Major speeches and votes are shown on TV. Democrats and Republicans will pay much of the bill, but taxpayers will help out too. Each of the two major parties' convention committees is getting $14,592,000 from the U.S. Treasury for its big meeting.

After the conventions, one candidate from each major party will begin the final lap of the race. There will be more speeches, more fund-raising dinners, more debates. But anything can happen between now and November 2, 2004.

Who do you think will cross the finish line first?