From the looks of it, it’s Barack Obama. A United States (US) presidential candidate needs at least 270 out of 538 Electoral College votes to win.

The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has useful information on the 2008 US presidential and vice presidential polls.

Kindly note that what happens on November 4 is the general election where registered voters choose their preferred President and Vice President and consequently choose slates of electors to serve in the Electoral College. The latter’s results are expected to be the same as the popular vote because 48 out of 50 states have a “winner-take-all” rule (i.e., whichever party wins in a state gets all of its Electoral College votes).

The electors are scheduled to meet on December 15 to select the next US President and Vice President. The Congress then meets in a joint session on January 9, 2009.

The chosen president-elect then takes the oath of fffice and becomes the US President at noon of January 20, 2009.

Just like in other parts of the world, concerned citizens of the Philippines are following closely the developments in the US. Whoever wins the election, after all, will define the foreign policy direction of the sole superpower.