The economic crisis and the Democrats’ sweeping electoral victory opens a dramatically new period in U.S. politics, filled with possibilities and pitfalls for the left. The pressing need to build a working-class resistance against layoffs, budget cuts, and foreclosures, among other demands, is fast becoming clear to millions feeling the bite of the recession.

Blacked out of the corporate media, barred from the debates, and facing an electoral system rigged to favor the two big business parties, Ralph Nader’s campaign for president persevered to reach millions of voters with a genuine pro-worker, antiwar alternative.

Riding a tidal wave of anger at Bush, the economy, and the Iraq war, the November elections saw a sweeping victory for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

Famed antiwar mom Cindy Sheehan received an impressive 29,951 votes – 17 percent – in her insurgent bid for Congress against Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I was able to meet up with Sheehan and discuss her campaign, as well as her plans to launch a new party after the elections.

On Election Day, voters delivered a decisive, historic defeat to the Republican agenda of corporate greed, corruption, and war. There is enormous hope that Obama’s election night promise of “a new dawn for America” is indeed in progress. But will Obama and the Democratic Party deliver?

The overwhelming victory for Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential elections and the major gains scored by the Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives represent a turning point for the U.S.

Americans have a decision to make on November 4, when the US presidential election is to be held. Evidently, Barack Obama’s candidature and campaign for the presidential seat has become a global phenomenon, not just in America and Europe but also in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It is not only because of his multi-racial background that Obama appeals to millions across the world, but also because his claim of giving hope resonates in the minds of Americans who are seeking a change from the 8 year-long economic deprivation wrought by the neo-liberal policies of the Republican Bush presidency.

The U.S. presidential election campaign has opened a new chapter for U.S. imperialism. With the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, the clear favorite to win the race to the White House, what will this new situation mean for U.S. foreign policy?

With the massive working class anger at the Democrat/Republican big bank bailouts the past week, Cindy saw the shift in the mood and declared that a new political party must be built after the elections. She had previously made similar statements in an interview with a Socialist Alternative member that appeared in Justice newspaper; This new statement is a confirmation of her intent.

After a week of unprecedented economic and political turmoil, leaders of both political parties were stunned as their bi-partisan plan to bail out Wall Street at taxpayers expense went down in defeat on Monday. The vote is a huge defeat for the Wall Street elite and it deepens the political crisis in Washington.

The conventions of the two main parties in US politics are stage-managed affairs. This year was no different. No real debates on policies occurred. In fact, proposed policies are barely talked about. Still, the conventions of the Democrats and Republicans showed a shift in the presidential election campaigns, which has been reflected in the polls.

From September 1-4, St. Paul, Minnesota was home to the Republican National Convention - and four days of protests and police repression.

Bumper stickers on thousands of cars throughout the northeastern U.S. simply read “1.20.09 — Bush’s last day.” The sigh of relief on that day will be audible from the highest peaks of the mountains of New Hampshire to the lowest valleys in the southwest. Crooked smirk Cheney, who couldn’t tell a baby quail from a business tycoon, will be exiting the halls of power too.

Workers and young people need a party of our own – one that doesn’t accept a penny from corporations and fights for what the vast majority of ordinary people need: An immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, universal healthcare, an end to discrimination, living-wage jobs, and a good quality of life.

Justice interviewed Cindy Sheehan, the "peace mom" whose son was killed in Iraq and who is now running as an independent anti-war, pro-worker challenger to Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.