Use our map to see the key areas in the contest to become the next president of the United States.

In a new Wisconsin poll by CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain by 51% to 46%. The survey of 859 likely voters was taken Friday through Monday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The results are similar to the last poll by the same sponsors, a mid-September survey in which Obama led 50% to 47%. Four other states were polled at the same time. In the latest survey, Obama led McCain 50% to 47% in Ohio and 53% to 45% in New Hampshire. The two were tied at 49% in North Carolina, and McCain led 51% to 46% in Indiana.

The Measure of a President: During the Presidential campaign, much has been made of Barack Obama's slender physique, with some commentators going so far as to argue that he is too thin for most Americans to relate to him. Does...

Animated Science, Health, Technology, Math, Social Studies and English movies, comic strips, activity pages and school homework help for kids.

No controversy looms larger than that about "likely" voters. Polls that count them, rather than registered voters, are usually more accurate, but maybe not this year. Pollsters determine who is likely to cast a ballot by asking questions such as whether they voted in 2004, are following the campaign and plan to vote. Respondents get a point for each "right" answer.

A host of energy policy experts agree that true "energy independence"-a key catch phrase of this presidential campaign-would be far more expensive and disruptive than either candidate is telling you. Our oil addiction hamstrings America's foreign policy and military, contributes to global warming and has robbed the nation of trillions of dollars. One of the country's leading energy modelers estimates that foreign-oil dependence cost our economy $750 billion this year, a little more than the daunting price tag of the proposed Wall Street bailout.

With national, state, and county maps, CNN.com's Campaign Fundraising Interactive Map provides an in-depth view into the campaign fundraising of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

Will Rural Voters Make It Three in a Row for Republicans? Rural and exurban voters made George Bush president -- twice.

* Over $15 million spent in presidential TV advertising since conclusion of conventions * More than 55% of McCain ads are in conjunction with RNC * Nearly all Obama ads all paid for with candidate money * Obama airs larger percentage of negative ads than McCain * Traditional battleground states receive majority of ad spending

Damned Spot: All-Time Favorite Political Ads Slate's John Dickerson opens the vault of the Museum of the Moving Image to pick his top five political ads of all time.

He stuck to the facts, except when he stretched them.

A new McCain ad calls Obama a celebrity (true) who says he'll raise taxes on electricity (false).

A McCain-Palin TV ad accuses Obama of being "disrespectful" of Palin, but it distorts quotes to make the case.

Summary: On NPR's Morning Edition, Mara Liasson asserted that a new McCain campaign ad "catalogued all of the false or sexist or awful things that Democrats and Obama supporters have said about [Gov.] Sarah Palin." In fact, the ad did not "catalogue" any "false" statements the Obama campaign or other Democrats have made about Palin and, as FactCheck.org noted, the ad "distorts" each of the three Obama campaign statements it uses "to make the case" that Sen. Barack Obama is "being 'disrespectful' of Palin."

Exit polls from the 2000 Presidential election

Crunching the Numbers - September 05, 2008 Nate Silver created a remarkably accurate computer system that projects stats for baseball players and teams. Now he's turned his attention to polling data for the presidential election with his website Five Thirty Eight. Silver explains how his site can out-perform the polling firms, whose data he relies on.

EduHound.com is a highly specialized educational directory with FREE categorized resources, lesson plans, clipart, and site sets for educators, teachers, students, and families.

As the November elections approach, here are some Web sites to help you get your students interested and involved. Elementary Middle and High School Election History

Latest 2008 election news & information from MSN; presidential election opinion & analysis; compare Republican & Democratic presidential candidates on issues; political video & blogs; current polls; election map; more.