Bush against Bush
With a long and dirty presidential election campaign under way in the United States, Asia Times Online's Roving Eye sets off on a journey through that great nation. On his first stop - and in the first article of this series - he observes the overwhelming fatalism of cynical New Yorkers. From Harlem to Ground Zero, most seem to agree that George W Bush will do anything to win - or steal - the November election.

Kerry, the Yankee muchacho
Would-be president John Kerry swooped into Albuquerque, New Mexico, to garner some badly needed points among the burgeoning Hispanic electorate. The sexy-as-a-spreadsheet senator from Massachusetts revealed to the worried mom of an air force pilot how he plans to deal with Iraq. He did not reveal how he will prevent George W Bush from stealing the Hispanic vote from the Democrats.

You have the right to be misinformed
While most Americans get their information from infotainment networks such as Fox, young people such as students at Berkeley are hungry for substance as they prepare to elect a president in November. But perhaps Berkeley - where half the faces seem to belong to the future elites of Asia - is not typical America.

An American tragedy
Deep in the heart of middle America, a "don't mess with Texas" pickup heaven, Donald Rumsfeld is a misunderstood hero and the Abu Ghraib fiasco "understandable", given the link between Iraq and September 11. Meanwhile in this PR Pearl Harbor, a nation struggles to come to grips with its gulag archipelago.

In the heart of Bushland
In "the middle of somewhere" lies Midland, Texas, childhood home of George W Bush, a city built on oil and moral certainty. God is everywhere (including the Cowboy Church), there are no bookshops, and the nearest nightlife is 300 miles away. This is the cradle of the new world order.

The war of the snuff videos
The upcoming videos and photos showing more abuse at Abu Ghraib have found their counterpart in a video of an American being beheaded. Meanwhile, the folks in Texas and elsewhere in conservative America are sick of the whole business. It will get worse.

The Iraq gold rush
The dangers of working in Iraq are by now obvious to everyone, and yet Americans are lining up by the hundreds for the chance at a job there. The reason also is obvious: the desert is paved with gold, courtesy of Halliburton subsidiary KBR.

The new beat generation
In San Francisco, where people - on a sunny day in Golden Gate Park - still wear flowers in their hair, Iraq is Vietnam, and prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib is seen as the new My Lai. Meanwhile, nearby Silicon Valley booms but not as loudly as before, and there are 30,000 homeless and 1,000 evictions a month in the City by the Bay.

Taliban in Texas: Big Oil hankers for old pals
There are a lot of smiles in Houston, Texas, the world oil capital, as the price of crude hits new records almost by the day. Expensive oil is good business. But Big Oil is not exactly fond of the situation in the Middle East. Iraq, for example, is terribly dangerous - ergo, bad for business. Big Oil is missing the good old days, when the Taliban visited Houston and had a ball.

Life is a beach. Or is it?
With more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year and myriad opportunities for instant gratification, one might assume residents of South Florida have no time for politics. Wrong. But there will be no hanging chads or suspicious Supreme Court rulings this year, and opinions about Iraq are as mixed as anywhere else in America. But November is months away - might as well go see that movie about that Achilles guy.

Cuba libre
Even without any hanging chads, it's said that Florida will once again be the Ground Zero of the US presidential election. That means a repeat of the ritual of wooing the powerful Cuban-American vote. So far, the flurry of Florida flip-flopping, with the willful failure of both camps to pursue a rational policy on Latin America, impresses few. As for El Comandante Fidel, he's not losing a wink of sleep.

Miami vice and virtue
Yet another war started by the Bush administration, this one against pornography, is bound to be controversial in Miami, the city of sun, sea, sand, sex and lots of money. Other wars, the shooting kind, and the Arab-Israeli bloodbath are also doing their share to divide formerly reliable voting camps, notably retired Jewish-Americans, who have trouble seeing the difference between George Bush and John Kerry.

Georgia on his mind
Savannah, Georgia, is regarded in Europe as the most beautiful city in North America. Yet this outpost of neoclassical and colonial leafy charm is about to be invaded by the Group of Eight circus, where George W Bush is likely to be asked again, politely, whether he has made any mistakes during his presidency. Maybe Forrest Gump could think of an answer. (May 26, '04)

Free at last?
The Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, is a moving and powerful tribute to the martyrs of the US civil rights movement of 1954-68, ordinary men and women who led a true revolution. Today, in the most conservative state in America, the justice won by those people is evident everywhere - almost.

Highway 61 revisited
Down in the Mississippi Delta, one is reminded that the indigenous American music known as the blues was born of hardship. It's an instrument of survival, offering release and relief - something the US could use right now, at this particular crossroads. But a black R&B musician laments, "You know the problem with this Bush cat? He can't dance! He's got no moves. That's why we're in this mess."

Now gimme those heartland votes
Swing votes? Not in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, or Ozark, Arkansas. While the Iraq quagmire is hurting George W Bush's re-election chances nearly everywhere else, here he is more popular than ever. All across the heartland, post-modern life in the fast lane seems to be too much, as is the cost of filling an SUV's giant gas tank.

Nerves of steel
In the Rust Belt of northern Ohio, the American Dream is no more, replaced by decaying cities where former steelworkers toil in Wal-Marts in a struggle to support their families. While economists worry about "creating value" for stockholders, jobs flow overseas to low-wage countries, and blue-collar anger seethes ahead of November's presidential elections.

A Warhol moment
Pittsburgh - in its 15 minutes of fame - used to be the heart of the US steel industry. Now it's nearly broke. History has always been crucial to Pittsburgh, a stern town where memories are as essential as aspirations. So one must ask, what if Andy Warhol were still alive? Would he make pink cowboy Bushes shooting from the hip like his silver Elvis?

Saint Ronnie
History has not afforded America enough time to nurture her own saints, so "sainthood" is bestowed on dead pop stars and presidents. But who cares in the "city of big shoulders?"

The spirit of Detroit
Piston-fever has taken over Motown, pushing all else to the sidelines - for now. But long after the NBA finals end, whether or not the spirit of Detroit defeats the LA Lakers "as part of a larger cosmic pattern", the state of Michigan will remain as it has for the past few years, living in a Danteesque ninth circle of economic hell.

Iraq as the 51st state
Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan, has positioned himself as a virtually indispensable voice in the Iraq debate. A fluent Arab speaker, he monitors the Arab press daily and, drawing on his experience in the region, pulls no punches on the Bush administration's "crazy" adventure in Iraq. He speaks to Asia Times Online in an extensive interview.

The brown vote
With 7 million Hispanics expected to vote in November, presidential candidates are targeting the "brown peril", which currently favors John Kerry. Still, the Democratic hopeful would be wise to hang out and share some tacos with the locals.

The house always wins
From the "whoooosh" of the Bellagio dancing fountains to the sounds of Sinatra and all-you-can-eat buffets, Las Vegas is, unofficially, America's most fabulous city. It is also the apotheosis of distorted perception - yes, odds always favor the house - and like another American casino-land, it might be better to cut one's losses and get out.