K-12 Government/Election Teaching Materials

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.

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.

The latest breakdown by The New York Times of which states are considered to be in play in the presidential election, along with how all the states voted in the past five elections.

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...

Providing educators and students access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.

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.

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

For the first time since 1964, Democrats actually have a chance of winning Virginia's 13 electoral votes. Barack Obama is up 4.8% according to the Real Clear Politics average, and according to Nate Silver, Virginia could be one of this election's decisive swing states. And, in a state with 161 colleges and 483,159 students, the predominantly Democratic youth vote could play a huge role in tipping the election Obama's way. But there's a hold-up: Virginia's local laws make it exceedingly difficult for students to register in their college towns. Indeed, though other states like Idaho and Tennessee also make student registration so difficult as to border on disenfranchisement, the barriers to student voter registration in Virginia are, some experts say, some of the most problematic in the country.

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.

Access, Analyze, Act: A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagment

* 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

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