US presidential race heats up

For the first time since 1952—since Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House—neither the incumbent president nor his vice president is in the running for the top job in the country. George W. Bush will have served two terms, making him constitutionally ineligible, and Vice President Dick Cheney? Well, realistically, his chances of being elected are about as good as his hunting skills. The result is that the floor is wide-open and there is no shortage of candidates from both sides. But who would be most beneficial for the Middle East, especially as the Arab lobby in Washington is still light-years away from being able to influence a presidential election? On the Democrat’s side, the leading contenders are Hillary Clinton, a senator for New York; Barak Obama, a senator from Illinois; and Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Another candidate outside of Congress is John