Changes

Barack Obama had a significant edge over Hillary Clinton in the fundraiser department during their contest for the Democratic nomination, but both actually set records for raising money and both raised far more money than John McCain.  McCain didn’t have to spend us much since he locked up the Republican nomination much earlier than Barack Obama locked up the Democratic.  Both Obama and McCain said they would accept government funds which would also cap how much the candidates could raise on their own, but Obama, who could presumably raise more through his own sources, changed his mind and later declined.  Much of McCain’s war chest will come from the Republican Party in general, which has more money to spend than their Democratic counterparts.  McCain’s campaign raised $47 million in August, a very sizeable figure for him so far and a personal record, but not as strong as Obama’s best months. In the same time period, Obama set a record with $66 million. Obama, still having an edge in fundraising that has continued throughout his run for the Presidency, saw $10 million collected the day after Sarah Palin’s strongly received convention speech, a new one day record.<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/04/after-palin-speech-obama-has-record-10-million-day/ After Palin speech, Obama has record $10 million day]</ref>  The Palin announcement has been good for John McCain's fundraising as well.

Barack Obama had a significant edge over Hillary Clinton in the fundraiser department during their contest for the Democratic nomination, but both actually set records for raising money and both raised far more money than John McCain.  McCain didn’t have to spend us much since he locked up the Republican nomination much earlier than Barack Obama locked up the Democratic.  Both Obama and McCain said they would accept government funds which would also cap how much the candidates could raise on their own, but Obama, who could presumably raise more through his own sources, changed his mind and later declined.  Much of McCain’s war chest will come from the Republican Party in general, which has more money to spend than their Democratic counterparts.  McCain’s campaign raised $47 million in August, a very sizeable figure for him so far and a personal record, but not as strong as Obama’s best months. In the same time period, Obama set a record with $66 million. Obama, still having an edge in fundraising that has continued throughout his run for the Presidency, saw $10 million collected the day after Sarah Palin’s strongly received convention speech, a new one day record.<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/04/after-palin-speech-obama-has-record-10-million-day/ After Palin speech, Obama has record $10 million day]</ref>  The Palin announcement has been good for John McCain's fundraising as well.

==Conventions==

==Conventions==

''Main Article: [[2008 Presidential Debates]]''

''Main Article: [[2008 Presidential Debates]]''

There will be three [[Presidential Debates|presidential debates]] for the 2008 election season.  The first debate was held on September 26th, at the University of Mississippi.  The topic for the debate was "Foreign Policy & National Security." The debate also talked in length about the economy. It was moderated by Jim Lehrer. The debate was a podium debate, broken into 9 nine-minute segments. The moderator introduced a topic, and then each candidate had 2 minutes to comment. Following their answers, there was 5 minutes of open discussion on the topic, facilitated by the moderator.

There will be three [[Presidential Debates|presidential debates]] for the 2008 election season.  The first debate was held on September 26th, at the University of Mississippi.  The topic for the debate was "Foreign Policy & National Security." The debate also talked in length about the economy. It was moderated by Jim Lehrer. The debate was a podium debate, broken into 9 nine-minute segments. The moderator introduced a topic, and then each candidate had 2 minutes to comment. Following their answers, there was 5 minutes of open discussion on the topic, facilitated by the moderator.  The result was a statistical draw where both candidates did better than expected in the eyes of the public.  The longer term impact worked out well for Obama who already had a lead going in, and benefited from solidfying that position.

The second debate was held on October 7th, at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.  The moderator was Tom Brokaw, and the debate was in a town hall-style.  The questions came from audience members and the Internet, as chosen by the moderator.  After each question, the candidates will had two minutes each to respond, as well as a one-minute followup to the opposing candidate's response.

The second debate was held on October 7th, at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.  The moderator was Tom Brokaw, and the debate was in a town hall-style.  The questions came from audience members and the Internet, as chosen by the moderator.  After each question, the candidates will had two minutes each to respond, as well as a one-minute followup to the opposing candidate's response. Again the result was a statical draw as far as who was considered to be the winner.  But with time running out for McCain, he needed something to make the poll numbers move, and that required a clear breakthrough. 

The final debate will be held on October 15th, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.  The topic for the debate is "Domestic and Economic Policy" and will be moderated by Bob Schieffer.  The candidates will be seated at a table, as opposed to behind a podium, and the format will follow that of the first debate.  In addition, though, the candidates will be given an opportunity to present a 90-second closing argument.

The final debate will be held on October 15th, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.  The topic for the debate is "Domestic and Economic Policy" and will be moderated by Bob Schieffer.  The candidates will be seated at a table, as opposed to behind a podium, and the format will follow that of the first debate.  In addition, though, the candidates will be given an opportunity to present a 90-second closing argument.

===Vice Presidential Debate===

===Vice Presidential Debate===

There was one vice presidential debate held on October 2nd, at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO.  The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill.

There was one vice presidential debate held on October 2nd, at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO.  The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill.  Palin did much better than expected, but Biden was also in top form.  No clear winner emerged and the poll numbers remained largely unchanged, a strategic win for the Democratic ticket that only had to maintain their lead to win the election.

==Third parties and Independents==

==Third parties and Independents==