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New Hampshire voters showed up in record numbers and surprised many by casting their ballots for Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain in the first-in-the-nation primary. With different winners emerging from the completed state nominating events, the race to the Republican and Democratic nominations is far from over.

With the Iowa caucuses behind them, most of the presidential candidates are now in New Hampshire appealing to voters before the state’s primary on January 8. "There's a lot of excitement living in Manchester right now," said 27-year-old resident Sarah Janas. "People are paying attention." Candidates and political experts consider the first nominating events in Iowa and New Hampshire to be among the most important ones to win because victories in either state can help propel a candidate to success in later state primaries and caucuses.

Iowa caucusgoers, turning out in record numbers, award victories to Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama. Attention now shifts to the January 8 New Hampshire primaries, where the candidates, minus Democrats Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, will continue to vie for voter support.

Setting out for the Middle East, President Bush hopes to build on the success of the November 2007 Annapolis Conference to keep up momentum toward a two-state solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of 2008. “What you see in the Middle East right now is a struggle between extremists and those who have a more hopeful vision for the future of the Middle East,” National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says. During his trip, Bush will make his first official visits to Israel and the West Bank, with stops in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly cite the need for “a sustained call from Kenya's political leaders for the cessation of violence by their followers” and call for the country’s leaders to engage “in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first.” Their joint statement comes after days of violence across the country left as many as 300 people dead and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes to escape looters and armed mobs.

The United States is reaching out to political leaders across Pakistan in the wake of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, urging them to move forward with the democratic process. "She was a champion for democracy," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says of Bhutto after signing a condolence book at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. "The way to honor her memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan so that the democracy that she so hoped for can emerge."

U.S. Founding Fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams all made contributions of a practical kind to the infant American society, but it was Benjamin Franklin who embodied the inventiveness and sheer creative energy that would mark the American character. Franklin (1706-1790) was a self-made man who rose to international prominence in equal parts as inventor, scientist, revolutionary and statesman. The remarkable course of Franklin’s life, from his humble upbringing as the 10th son of a Puritan soapmaker in Colonial New England to his place as the era’s most celebrated scientist and diplomat, revealed quite a bit about the opportunity and promise for advancement the young American nation offered its enterprising sons (and, a bit later, also its daughters).

President Bush joins world leaders in shocked condemnation of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and urges continued progress toward democratic reforms in Pakistan. “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy,” Bush tells reporters at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. “Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.”

A Victorian-era house that served as a refuge from the bustle of White House life for President Abraham Lincoln and his family now offers an intimate look at the presidency of a man whose leadership during the U.S. Civil War helped keep his nation intact. President Lincoln’s Cottage, situated on the 112-hectare compound of the federally owned Soldiers’ Home in Washington, will open to the public in February 2008 following a seven-year restoration project.

To an outsider, the caucus may seem as nonsensical as a passage in a children’s tale, but caucuses are all about doing: giving up personal time, talking, deciding and realigning loyalties when a favored candidate fails to win enough support to be “viable.” Essentially a neighborhood meeting, the name “caucus” derives from an American Indian word for a conference of tribal leaders.

Although it has taken a long time in U.S. history, today women commonly serve on the highest courts in the country. Many of these women overcame great obstacles to achieve their positions. The composition of the American judicial system is "very different than when I joined the court and there were all white men," said Leah Ward Sears, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. "That is not the America I know today."

As the number of deaths in Iraq declines and the coverage of the issue in the news media decreases, polls indicate that Americans are as concerned or more concerned about economic issues. Economic concerns commonly dictate voters' choices in American elections, says NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd. And presidential candidates are paying attention and adjusting their campaign strategies.

Campaign committees for both major political parties in the United States spend substantial time and effort recruiting the best potential candidates for key election districts around the country. Their drive to recruit winning candidates comes against the background of a 2006 congressional election in which the Democrats took over 30 previously Republican seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, moving into majority status after 12 years of Republican control.

American congressional districts come in all sizes and shapes. While each of the 50 states gets two at-large senators, House of Representatives’ districts are apportioned by population. The geographically smallest district covers only a few square blocks of Harlem in New York City. The largest covers the entire state of Alaska, which, despite its enormous size (nearly as large as Iran), has so few inhabitants that it is entitled to only one representative. USINFO looks at one district, Oregon’s 1st, and examines how demographic and economic changes over the years have transformed its political landscape.

The political season has kicked off in southwest Texas as those seeking election announce their candidacies, raise funds and take the pulse of the region. Texans say health care and Iraq are their top domestic and foreign concerns, and candidates are responding. “Health care continues to be the main issue, with the exception of those international issues such as Iraq,” says Representative Ciro Rodriguez, incumbent Democratic Party congressman of the Texas 23rd Congressional District. USINFO talks with district voters and political leaders about the election issues in the district.

With the presidential election primary season beginning -- and possibly ending -- earlier than ever before, candidates face many new challenges, political experts say. With the first race in the 2008 presidential contest just two days after New Year’s Day, in Iowa, the candidates’ final days of campaigning in that state will coincide with the holiday season, which could pose a challenge for those who are running behind. The scheduling of nominating contests in 22 states on the same day in 2008 also will require that candidates carefully allocate their advertising resources and campaign staffs to win party votes.

To enhance the evolution of democracy in Afghanistan, the United States launches a public-private partnership to help improve the fledgling Afghan justice system by funding low-cost, high-impact projects that promote women's rights, access to justice, legal aid, professional legal development and other justice-related programs. "It is imperative that Afghanistan develop a well-trained, educated, and demographically representative cadre of judges to serve in courts across the country," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says.

When Deepa Iyer moved from India to Kentucky she was 12 years old, an awkward age for drastic adjustment. Blazing a path from there to being the executive director of the increasingly influential South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow took a combination of hard work, timely opportunity and key influences that shaped her perceptions of democracy. According to Iyer, people made assumptions about her family’s origins and their English-language skills based on inaccurate stereotypes. Seeing other immigrants and minorities have similar experiences “shaped my desire to become part of a movement in the United States that was based on social justice and equality,” she says.

Although recent polls show that Americans split their support among many presidential candidates, these same polls indicate there is one thing many Americans agree on: it is time for a change. Americans are looking for a leader who can change the direction in which the country is heading, NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd tells reporters in Washington.

After a White House meeting with Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, President Bush praises the Nigerian leader for being “committed to democracy and rule of law.” Bush describes Yar’Adua as “very articulate in his desire to make sure that the people of Nigeria understand that their government will be fair and transparent, and will be a government of the people.” The two presidents describe their Oval Office meeting as a “good visit.”