All 50 US States will be holding conventions, meetings or caucuses to decide which candidates their state will vote for duirng the national convension. At the national convention the delegates from the 50 states will vote for the presidential candidate of their party. The two major parties in the US are Democrats and Republicans. There are other parties but only those two have been in power during at least the last century.

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver Colorado on Monday, August 25 to Thursday, August 28.

The Republican National Convention will be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul Minnesota from September 1-4

The US Presidential Election will be held on November 8, 2008. The US American people do not vote directly for the President and Vice President, but instead vote for electors who meet in January to elect the President. And the new President and VP assume office in January 20.

The problem is that I really don't like any of them.

But the ones I really don't want are the ones who would have government take over health care. They would likely remove the alternative medicines I need due to allergies to "save money".

Do they have an "Alternative Medicines" Lobby?

AD explained the outward mechanics of it all. What "really" happens is the candidate who can come up with the most money (meaning he/she becomes beholden to the special interests) and the most mud on the other candidates gets to the head of the pack, and represents his/her party in the election.

The election is when the party workers make sure they get as many people to the polls as possible, whether eligible or not, dead or alive, to cast their votes. The news media will predict the winner 10 minutes after the polls open, based on interviews with the first 20 people to have voted. This then influences the other 100,000,000 potential voters as to whether they should bother.

Unfortunately, the people who would probably make good presidents have sense enough to stay out of the race.

Sometimes I wish there was a box on the ballot - "None of the above"
Val

People only vote for the "electable" candidate who must be the media-anointed one who gets money, perhaps?

Just in case anyone hasn't heard yet Obama won in Iowa tonight and Hillory came in 3d. I'm glad it turned out that way and hope it's like that in all 49 other states.

I'm preparing my conspiracy theories as we speak!

I put Ron Paul in this poll, but only because I disagree the least with what I've heard about him. Some of the candidates I have more issues with, others I haven't heard enough about.

Well, at least remember the Chicago phrase:
Vote early, vote often!

The reason that we always get an oddball in office is that there is a bias in the Plurality Voting System we use.

Whenever more than two candidates run, the Plurality Voting System is biased in favor of the candidate most unlike the others.

So the primaries and the national conventions will pick the oddest Democrat and the oddest Republican to face each other.

Then, if there are other parties running in the general election, the Plurality Vote will select the odder of the two candidates mentioned above.

The existence of a third party in the race actually changed the outcome of the Presidential election in 1992 and 2000 (and several other years before 1930). In 1992, Ross Perot handed the election to Bill Clinton just by running, and in 2000, Ralph Nader handed the election to George W Bush.