When it comes to general election for the President and the Vice-President, the citizens vote indirectly for the president, they vote for an elector to represent their wishes in the Electoral College.
The elector then votes for the President they want to see in power, effectively they can vote for who they want, but they will nearly always vote based on the wishes of their people.
Nearly all citizens over eighteen years of age have the right to vote. People who are in prison may be restricted, but this varies from state to state.
To participate in elections, particularly when running for president, requires large amounts of money. They need to have enough money to circulate information, predominantly on the television for the election of president, which cost thousands of pounds. This can be dependent on the support of a wealthy donors or wealthy organisations to finance the campaign.
Politics in the US are complex and have a long, intricate history. The first US president was George Washington, who took his oath of office on 30 April 1778 and stayed in office until 1797. He was replaced by his Vice-President John Adams. The Vice-President is the first person in the presidential line of succession, who would take up the Presidency on the removal, death or resignation of the president.
Including the present day president there have been a total of forty four presidents in the US. The current President is Barack Obama, the 44th president in US history. He was elected into presidency in 2008. He is the first African American president, originally from Honolulu Hawaii. The Vice-President is Joe Biden. Barack Obama went to Harvard Law School in 1988. In the summer was employed as an associate in a law firm in Chicago. This is where he met his wife, Michelle Robinson.
Barack Obama was a senate for Illinois from 1997 to 2004. He most notably led the passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling. This meant that the police were required to record the race of drivers they detained. This made Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. So far, opinion of Barack Obama is generally positive, with the general opinion being that he is a far, hard-working, American who is in touch with the needs of American citizens. The relationship he shares with his family has been in the press, portraying him as a family man who knows the importance of real values.