The constitution in the U.S

There are many differences between the politics in Sweden and in the U.S. In the U.S, they have something called republican constitution. That means that every state has the right to make different decisions that only affects the state itself. Although the decisions can't be too big, because then the state will break the federal laws. The federal laws are kind of the basic laws in the country and is equal in every state. The federal laws are based on three sections:

President of the Untited States of America:

So far, 44 presidents has been elected in the U.S and last year Barack Obama was elected as the first coulerd president in American history. No woman has so far ever been elected to the president post. Being a president in the U.S takes a lot of hard work and a very big responsibility for the country. The person who gets elected is not just president, but also head of state, head of government and commander in cheif. In other countries they usually have at least two people who have those responsibilities, so i think it tells a lot about how much it really takes to be a president. As a president you get elected for four years and can be elected once again. Altogether the preseident can be in charge in total of eight years. A requirement for being the president of the U.S is that you have to be born american citizen. The election itself is every fourth year and it's always the first tuesday in the month of november. The next elecetion will be in 2012. (www.usa.nu, www.usaresan.se)

United States Congress:

It's the Congress who takes care of the tax and institute the laws in the country. The Congress is divided in two parts, the U.S Senate and The House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has 435 members, who are chosen as representatives during a two-year period. Every two year people in the different states elects new members and a few new senators. Being a senator requires that you have to live in the state that you represent. Before Barack Obama became president of the United States, he was senator in the state Illinois. Many presidents has been senators before they were elected to the president post, probably because they're experienced enough to rule the country. Most senators sits about six years, but they can also sit during a longer period or be exchanged earlier. The Congressional election always takes place on the November, 7th. (www.usa.nu, www.ord.se, www.sverigesradio.se)

The Supreme Court:

In the Supreme Court there are nine judges who has been elected by the president. There's also a few senators that have to approve the presidents choice. Different kind of problems between the states are often discussed there, and it's the Supreme Courts job to make a decision in different issues. (www.usa.nu)