See also US Politics Special: The "Elite Eight" States That Will Decide The Presidential Election
In 3 1/2 minutes and some drawings, EA puts you on the path to becoming a water-cooler expert on the US Presidential Election, complete with an understanding of the Electoral College and "It's Not the Big States but the Swing States That Make the Difference".
There are only 106 Electoral College votes in eight states that are up for grabs in this election. The importance of each state corresponds to how many votes they award, if only because President Obama --- with his Blue Wall --- needs to win far fewer of these states than Mitt Romney to triumph in the election. It is a harsh fact for Mitt Romney's campaign that if Obama secures the 29 votes of Florida, this Presidential election is all but over.
The Elite Eight:
Florida - 29
Ohio – 18
North Carolina – 15
Virginia – 13
Missouri – 10
Colorado – 9
Nevada – 6
Iowa – 6
Barack Obama, Mitt Romney Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 12:23 | James Miller in EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, US Foreign Policy, US Politics National Public Radio recaps the key points from Mitt Romney's foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute
A real criticism of Barack Obama might be that he did not change enough. He has continued and escalated the drone war, has surged in Afghanistan, has not reset the diplomatic situation with Iran or North Korea, and has not closed Guantanamo Bay.
But Romney is not challenging any of this, because he is likely to support these measures, albeit in private rather in public statements. Instead, he is pursuing the verbal trickery of turning a "hawkish" Obama into a dove.
Whether that is effective politics, time will tell. But no one should mistake it for a realistic view of US politics.
Monday, October 8, 2012 at 22:30 | Ali Yenidunya in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran, US Foreign Policy 
1935 GMT: With no reference to his earlier demand on a halt to settlement freeze as a condition of returning to peace talks, Palestinian Authority's leader Mahmoud Abbas said that he could resume talks following the UN vote on a Palestinian request for "nonmember state" status.
1900 GMT: PM Netanyahu announces early elections.
1730 GMT: Israel's daily YNET claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce his early elections decision tonight.
1720 GMT: A Kassam rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an open area in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. No injuries reported.
1530 GMT: In a letter sent to the U.S. Congress by the leaders of the Lutheran, Methodist, UCC churches, and the National Council of Churches; the military aid to Israel was asked to be reevaluated.
Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Dan Meridor, Iran, Israel, Mitt Romney, NATO, Turkey 
It has been a strange and unexpected week in the American Presidential election, with twists in the established narratives of the Obama and Romney campaigns.
First, the debate on Wednesday night in Colorado dispelled the Obama team's line that Mitt Romney does not represent all Americans. Whether he does or not is beside the point; Romney's performance –-- aided by the non-performance of the President –-- conveyed concern for the problems faced by everyone, nor just the "makers" rather than the 47% who are the "takers".
Then the job numbers released on Friday, with a drop in the headline unemployment rate from 8.1% to a more palatable 7.8%, spiked the guns of the Romney attack that the economy is just not working under Obama.
Are either of these a game-changer? With just over four weeks to go in this campaign probably not. However, despite the welcome job numbers for the Democrats, Republicans have had much the better week. Last Saturday Obama appeared a near-certainty for re-election; now those who have already placed a bet on the President will be silently sweating about the outcome.
See also US Elections Video: The 1st Obama-Romney Debate
Photo: ReutersMitt Romney appeared more committed and convincing when explaining his solutions to America's economic woes. Those ideas may appear to be nothing more than wishful thinking when the answers are dissected, but the perception Romney gave was that he has a coherent plan to restore US fortunes. The bottom line to take from the debates was that Mitt Romney appeared Presidential; the actual president less so.
Will that be enough to shift the polls in Romney's favour?
Polls indicate more voters are "disappointed" with Obama's record in office than "happy", and Americans often pay respect to the rhetoric of a limited government that fosters individual responsibility. If Romney can successfully present his vision on those two issues, without fumbling over his dismissal of 47% of Americans as moochers, he may buttress his claim to be the better choice as the next President of the United States among the undecided.
The original Fars English story, copied directly from The Onion
See also Iran Feature: Fars News and The Onion Agree --- "Rural American Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama"
On Friday, we featured the story of how Iranian media, including Fars News' English-language site, were headlining, "Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama". The small problem with the breaking news? It was taken from the satirical on-line "newspaper", The Onion.
Today, Fars English's Editor-in-Chief has apologised:
Unfortunately an incorrect item was released on our website on Friday which included a fake opinion poll on popularity rate of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and US President Barack Obama. The news item was extracted from the Satirical Magazine, The Onion, by mistake and it was taken down from our outlook in less two hours.
It is not quite a full retraction, however. The Editor continues, "Although it does not justify our mistake, we do believe that if a free opinion poll is conducted in the US, a majority of Americans would prefer anyone outside the US political system to President Barack Obama and American statesmen."
President Obama in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Thursday
After the electoral votes from these near-certainties, the election comes down to seven or eight "swing states". Of these, three --- Florida, Ohio, and Virginia --- are vital because their larger number of votes in the Electoral College. To win the election, Romney needs to triumph in two of the three. That is why more than half the money spent by both campaigns has been devoted to the trio of battlegrounds.
The cold challenge for the Romney campaign is that the polls put Obama ahead in all three. Florida is close, with President Obama enjoying a narrow 4% advantage, but in both Ohio and Virginia his lead is about 8%.
So why, despite these numbers, are Republicans hopeful that Mitt Romney can still win?
