In the heat of the summer, smart people slow down and get out of the sun. U.S. politics settles down too. Voting in the presidential election isn't until November, so the serious electioneering tends to wait until autumn.
Obama supporters are more excited about voting McCain's, according to pollsters.
But not this year. People in the U.S., and even around the world, are just a lot more excited this time round.
And that excitement is a factor in the race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Most pollsters conclude that Obama has a slight lead over McCain when they calculate how people plan to vote. It's just a few percentage points; too small to decide a race with so much time left to run.
But the pollsters have been measuring the excitement and found that much more one sided.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll last month found that 54 per cent of Obama supporters say they are "very enthusiastic." Only 17 per cent of McCain supporters said they felt that way.
A USA Today/Gallup poll found 67 per cent of Obama's supporters are "more excited than usual about voting" for their candidate. Only 31 per cent of McCain's supporters can say the same thing.
BY-CNN NEWS
