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With the Olympics over the media has gone back to politics and, for students who have also gone back to the classrooms this week, now may be a good time to practice some of that politico-speak. With the US election scheduled for November 4, we are all going to be bombarded with political news and views for the next month. Last week we had the Democratic Convention with Barack Obama and his buddies blowing their trumpet and this week its Senator McCain and his Republican pals making a racket. Believe me a good grasp of the issues the candidates present will help you, in any writing/speaking test situation or coffee table conversation – so let's get started. This year the focus is on war/ terrorism, the economy, jobs, health, education, energy and the environment. I've looked at the environment before in this column so let's focus now on war/terrorism as this is getting a lot of attention. As the US is the land of the cowboy and the incumbent President comes from Texas, we should recall that it was 6 years ago when GW first talked about the smoking gun that could be a mushroom cloud. His party, the Republicans, have a strong military tradition, and have chosen as their candidate an ex POW, Senator John McCain. McCain is slated as someone who speaks straight from the heart and is prepared to make the hard decisions. However at 72, some have suggested that he may be past his expiry date. | 
