The stakeholders in the system, i.e. the voters, are in turn subject to heavy advertising which is bound to dissuade, rather than encourage, younger voters.

It is difficult to forecast the final result of American elections. Voters must first participate in the process and make a change in U.S. Congress.

However, foreign observers tend to be perplexed by the U.S. system, and cannot differentiate the main parties's views within from the monotone and generally simplistic policies of the United States toward the rest of the world.

Reportedly, more than 25% of members of U.S. Congress, and more than 60% of the staff, assistants and analysts that serve them, do not have passports and have never travelled abroad. Before his first term in the White House, President Bush himself had not travelled to any foreign country but Mexico -- and he served as governor of Texas. Plus, Bush is a son of a former president, who served as CIA director and U.S. ambassador to China! With such credentials, it is difficult to see how American lawmakers can form a learned and objective opinion about the rest of the world or allocate very large budgets to implement policies.

The forecasted change on Capitol Hill ought to open debate on some world issues. However, it is far from certain whether such elections will broaden the spectrum of analysis and the seemingly trial and error policies that have isolated America from the rest of the world. Issues such as global warming, WTO Doha Rounds on agricultural products and paying U.N. dues of the United States must be added to the usual list of Middle East situation, Iraq and Guantanamo.