Officials are optimistic that voting will go smoothly in Florida and Ohio

Fenton Communications held a teleconference on voter protection concering Florida and Ohio, reassuring voters that since 2001, resources have been implemented to help stop possible problems on election day.

Jonah Goldman, Director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections, said that Florida and Ohio are showing signs of potential problems on election day but he is optimistic they will be resolved. "Their system is good but it still needs work. The issue is that even for early voting, there are voters who leave because of long lines, come back the next day, and still can't vote because of the long lines," Goldman said.

Jorge Mursuli, President and CEO of Democracia U.S.A, said that the good news is the collaboration between organizations which is helping increase peoples awareness of possible problems. "We now have an 800 number that people can call from anywhere to find out about possible voting issues in their area along with what they exactly need to bring to the voting booths," Mursuli said.

Goldman believes that the improvements his organization, others have made since 2001 will make a big difference with early voting and on election day.

Relationship between Afghanistan and the U.S. will improve under a new American president

The relationship between the United States and Afghanistan will improve under the new American president said Said Tayeb Jawad-Ambassador of Afghanistan to the U.S. at a conference today. Jawad added that Afghanistan is "working hard with our American friends" to help in "not only fighting
terrorism," but helping the economy and well-being of Afghan citizens.

Jawad said he was happy with the recent improvement in the economy in Afghanistan, but there was "further business potential." He said the greatest improvements in Afghanistan's economy have been made in telecommunications and mining. He added that "promoting investment opportunities" in Afghanistan internationally is important as well.

Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness, Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan is at a "fork at the road" between a vicious circle and a virtuous circle. Ghani stated that the vicious circle included an economy that created an atmosphere where "people are forced to embrace the gun." That would also create "new enemies" for the country, according to Ghani. He said that a virtuous circle would mean a
"stable" economy where the poor become "stakeholders in the system."

Ghani added that Afghanistan had five "latent assets" that could drastically improve the economy of the country if used properly. He said they were water, geology, agriculture, location, and money. He
called these assets latent because they were not being used currently by the government. Ghani also said that water specifically was "critical to the region" and would be as valuable as oil in time.

Giuliani thinks Biden comments reveal danger of an Obama presidency

According to Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.)" continues to harbor serious doubts about Obama" in a conference call today. Biden said that Obama would be tested early on in his
presidency so foreign leaders can "test his mettle."

Giuliani added that while Biden believes Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) will be tested, "John McCain has passed every test in his life." He added that voters should choose McCain because he "doesn't pose the same
risk" that Obama does. Giuliani warned that with that statement, Biden was predicting a "very serious incident."

McCain-Palin Foreign Policy Advisor Randy Scheunemann said Obama has demonstrated "stubbornness and inflexibility" in not admitting his past mistakes. He used the example of Obama's willingness to meet unconditionally with other dictators as well as his unwillingness to admit the success of the surge in Iraq.

He said that Biden's comments were an example of "inadvertently speaking the truth." He added this statement by Biden was "very revealing."

Giuliani added that if this statement were made by a Republican, it would be "on the front page" of the New York Times.

How does the electoral college work?

The Federal Reserve makes sure that individual states "know their responsiblities" in pledging their electoral votes, said the Federal Register's Director of Legal Affairs and Policy Amy Bunk in a lecture at the National Archives.
According to Bunk, the electors of each state act as "go betweens" of State and Congress. The number of electors is determined by the number of representatives and senators a state has in Congress. There are a total of 538 electors in the U.S. every presidential election year.

Although electors almost always pledge their vote to the candidate that wins the popular vote of the state, Bunk said there have been cases of "faithless electors." She said that one example occurred in 2004 when one of Minnesota's 10 electors gave their vote to John Edwards for president instead of John Kerry.

On January 6, "Congress will meet to count the votes" of this year's electors. Bunk said that while the electors determine the presidency, the public's "votes do count" under our current system.

Albright says American image has dipped

In a hearing today, Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that the Bush administration has cost the United States "moral authority" in the eyes of the international community. Albright said that while America is still "the world's mightiest power," America needs to reestablish respect from abroad.

Albright said that the first thing the next president should do is withdraw troops from Iraq. She said that having troops in Iraq has contributed to a negative view of America globally. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) disagreed and said "Our work has elevated our reputation." Albright said a withdrawal would look favorable internationally because the United States can "steer credit to responsible Iraqi leaders." She emphasized that the military has been brilliant, but the problem in Iraq is political. Albright said that this admistration has had an "overemphasis on military aspects of missions."

Energy policy has not been addressed by the United States enough, according to Albright. She said that our future energy policies should focus on innovation and finding alternative sources. Albright said that offshore drilling is not a solution. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said that our energy policy is a "vital component of our grand strategy."

Albright specified the five major issues for the next president would be nuclear non-proliferation, fighting terrorism without creating more terrorists, promoting democracy without forcing it on other nations, the growing gap between the poor and wealthy, and establishing new energy policy. Albright that she hoped that the next president would work closely with Congress and advocate bipartisanship.