More citizens participate in this election than in any other aspect of political life, and their choice has enormous influence on the nation and on the world.

Qualifications and Tenure

The Constitution sets relatively strict requirements about who may serve as president and for how long. Under Article II，only a natural-bom citizen of the United States is eligible to serve as president. In addition, a person must be at least thirty-five years old to become president and must have resided in the United States for

at least fourteen years. Under the Twenty -second Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1951, no person may serve as president for more than two four-year terms.

Two Crucial Stages of the Presidential Election

The road to the White House consists of two separate stats: caucuses and primaries leading to the Democratic and Republican party nominations, and the general election.

The Nomination

This is largely an individual effort, that is, to get one’s name on the ballot by showing he is a serious runner and advertising himself to the public. In this process (from early in the election year to the summer), he makes a decision to run, tries to raise the fund himself (mainly via mass media), and organizes a group who will assist him. And then the party must try to find out who is the most appealing candidate to voters and, try to make sure that during the process of nomination, the party will not split.

The nomination campaign requires an appeal to party activists and the more ideologically motivated primary voters. Presidential candidates try to win a majority of delegates at their party’s national nominating convention in the summer before the November general election. Each state has its own laws concerning selecting the delegates and nominating presidential candidates, but basically, there arc two methods: caucuses and primaries.

• Caucuses

In several states, caucuses are held as the first step to determine the state party’s delegates to the National Convention where presidential candidates are selected. At the caucuses, local party members meet, listen to candidates or their representatives, state their preference for a specific candidate, and then vote for party delegates to continue the election process. The number of delegates is proportional to the vote that the candidate received at the caucuses. Delegates selected at the caucuses attend county center committees for the party, which then choose delegates to attend the county conventions and eventually the election district and state conventions. It is at the district and state conventions that delegates are chosen for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

• Primaries

In most states，delegates to national nominating conventions are selected in direct state presidential primaries. In these elections, voters indicate a preference for a presidential candidate and sclect delegates committed to a candidate. States hold both the Republican and the Democratic primaries on the same day. Primaries can be either dosed or open. A closed primary is a system of selecting a party’s candidate for office in an intra-party election in which only registered members of that party can vote. Most state primaries are closed. In an open primary, both registered and “independent” voters may vote. As the races in state presidential primaries take place, it gradually becomes dear which candidates arc the strongest. And the person supported by his state to a political party’s candidate for president is called a favorite son.

• The National Convention

Once selected, delegates attend their party’s national nominating convention in the summer. National convendons are held to finally determine the selection of one presidential nominee. Once a presidential candidate has enou^i votes to assure nomination, he chooses a running-mate (vice -presidential candidate). Running mates are often chosen to balance the ticket, that is, to create more widespread appeal for a ticket by expanding its appeal across geographic or ideological lines. Afterwards, the nominees must prepare for the &11 campaign, with many tasks awaiting him and his campaign team.

The General Election

After the national conventions, the nominees must now face the general election campaign (from September to November). The general election requires an appeal to the less partisan, more ideologically moderate voters. In this process, the presidential candidates should take care of the following things.

Selecting a Theme

Theme is the most appealing idea that is repeated over and over s^ain in the campaign. Finding the right theme for the campaign is essential. A successRil theme is one that characterizes the candidate. It mi运tit be as simple as “a leader you can trust” 一 an attempt to portray the candidate as competent and trustworthy. Current issues can also be the basis for an appeal to voters. In 2008，Obama was successful in focusing on issues concerning domestic policy and the economy.