Spouses are U.S. candidates' newest campaign instrument by Corina Ciubotaru

The race is on for the presidential candidates to become known and loved by their audience, and that involves Americans living and working overseas. Most of the candidates or their spouses have been frequently visiting countries like Britain, where the American population is thriving, to raise funds and show they care for all U.S. citizens. And the citizens do seem impressed, as they have donated $474,000 in the first half of the campaign and analysts expect the sum to top the $900,000 from the last elections. And Britain is a very likely destination for candidates, since Americans living there are the highest contributors, with $350,000 donated so far. Former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair are among the most visited people by U.S. candidates, the Iron Lady being a well-known inspiration for Democrats. Candidates' spouses like Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama did their part too in promoting their loved-ones' candidacy. Both of them attended posh fund-raisers and tried to spread the word on their spouse's miraculous ideas, but even though Obama's wife appeared very natural and warm, it was still the former U.S. president who received the most attention.Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are leading the race when it comes to funds. They raised $70 million each on the mainland and $200,000 and $51,500 from expats, respectively, so visits to foreign countries are mostly beneficial to the candidates' image and help Americans abroad feel involved in the presidential race back home. Clinton leads in the polls though for Democratic nomination and the first nomination contests are three months away.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071016/ap_po/britain_overseas_campaigning;_ylt=AkN1oD5ywttlHqIemlZFT1.s0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Edited by Iveta Nagyova