Republicans
Presidential Candidate: George W. Bush
George W. Bush had quite a lavish upbringing and having a politically affluent family, he had been granted many opportunities.

He was educated in many prestigious private schools and went on to further his studies at Yale University although according to the BBC online, Bush seemed to have no real direction in his studies and has been known to be quite a party animal during his youth.

Bush did a five-year stint during the Vietnam War. The BBC online reports that he did not sign up for actual combat but served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard.

After the war had ended, Bush became more focused financially and began his political career.

According to CNN online, Bush started his own oil and gas company in 1975, and made his first political move during a congressional race in 1978. He had, however, lost to the incumbent and decided to return to his oil business.

The oil price reportedly crashed during the 1980s and nearly collapsed Bush?s company. The business was reportedly rescued from financial ruin by mergers ? the second merger took place in 1986 with Harken Oil and Gas.

In 1989 Bush had reportedly made a great business venture by acquiring the baseball franchise, Texas Rangers, which he later sold in 1998 for a substantial return of $14- million.

In 1994 he returned to politics by joining the race for the position of governor in Texas against the incumbent Ann Richards.

According to CNN online, with the help of his father, George Bush Sr, Bush succeeded in generating more campaign funds than any other candidate for office in Texas history and as a result defeated Richards in a much-anticipated victory that had coincided with the Republican takeover of Congress.

His ability to generate large amounts of campaign funds continued to play a pivotal role in his 1999 presidential campaign. According to the Centre for Responsive Politics, Bush raised a record $193-million for this campaign.

Bush was elected president in 2000.

During 2001 and 2002 his response to the terror attacks of September 11 was a self-proclaimed "war on terror" which led to two wars ? in Afghanistan and Iraq. His aggressive foreign policy has left a world divided, especially following the recent war on Iraq and evidence proving that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.

The BBC online predicts that Bush will remain a popular candidate as long as voters can be persuaded that the situation in Iraq was on the path of peace and reconstruction.

Vice Presidential Candidate: Dick Cheney
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Richard Bruce Cheney grew up in the quaint town of Casper, Wyoming.

Cheney attended the University of Wyoming and achieved his Masters degree in 1969 he then married Lynne Vincent, a former chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities organisation. They have two daughters.

According to CNN online, Cheney?s political career began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon administration. He attained a number of top-ranking position, including a brief period at the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Cheney reportedly became chief of staff to President Ford in 1975 at the age of 34, making him the youngest man to serve that position yet.

After Ford's defeat Cheney returned to his home state, Wyoming, in 1977, and was elected to six terms in Congress as the state of Wyoming?s only representative.

While in Congress, he reportedly established a firm basis of conservative voting with votes cast ranging from anti-abortion laws to gun control. Cheney?s voting record showed that he had a dislike to most domestic spending, including a range of education and environmental programmes, He was, however, a supporter of boosting the budget for the Pentagon.

In 1989 Cheney became defence secretary to President George Bush senior, a position he retained during the Gulf War.

But even though Cheney has always remained conservative in his views regarding laws he has demonstrated exceptional liberal stances in the past.

He once opposed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, despite having a lesbian daughter, according to BBC Online. He reportedly said at the time: "Freedom means freedom for everyone."

Democrats
Presidential Candidate: John Kerry
John Kerry went to a boarding school in Switzerland and then went on to a top private school in New Hampshire.

He attended Yale University in 1966 and Boston College in 1976 obtaining a law degree. According to the BBC online, Kerry had joined the secret and elite ?Skull and Bones? club at Yale, just as George W. Bush did two years later.

Kerry was married twice ? both times to rich women ? and he has fathered five children including two daughters from his first marriage and three sons from his second.

His first wife was Julia Thorne, a wealthy heiress from Philadelphia whom had reportedly suffered from depression, which had led to their break-up.

Kerry married his second wife, Teresa Heinz in 1995. Heinz?s husband, Senator Richard Heinz, had died in a plane crash, leaving Teresa to inherit his business fortune.

Kerry has quite an extensive military record.

According to CNN online, He served more than 12 years in the Navy, ranging from captain of a Gunboat crew in Vietnam in 1966 to 1970, then as part of the Naval reserves until 1978.

In 1977, Kerry became an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County, New Jersey. He became an attorney in 1979, reports CNN online.

In 1984 he was elected as a US senator and is currently serving his fourth term in the US Senate.

But even before he had joined the US Senate, Kerry was already well known for the headlines he made during the 70s with his fierce anti-Vietnam stance. He reportedly asked senators: "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Vice Presidential Candidate: John Edwards
John Edwards was born in South Carolina to a father who was a textile worker and a mother who held a variety of jobs.

CNN online reports that Edwards attended the North Carolina State University, where he obtained a law degree with honours in 1977. He was the first member of his family to attend college.

The Almanac of American Politics reports that Edwards started his legal career by representing record companies accused of pirating illegal Elvis Presley records.

As a trial lawyer, he soon gained a reputation for being a powerful and persuasive speaker, a skill he would later put to use on the campaign trail for presidency.

Edwards was reportedly first elected to public office in 1998, after a much-celebrated campaign against Lauch Faircloth, a Republican incumbent who had gathered a substantial conservative voting record within the US Senate.

Edwards again came to the fore during the impeachment trial of former US president Bill Clinton. Here his eloquence and persuasion as a speaker stood him in good stead.

More recently, he emerged as a stern critic of the Bush administration in its war on terrorism despite having reportedly voted in favour of granting President Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq in October 2002.

CNN online reports that Edwards announced in 2003 that he would not be attempting a second term as Senator but would rather be focussing on his bid for presidency.

In March 2004 he stepped down from his presidential bid and gave his full support to fellow senator John Kerry, who had become the Democratic nominee due to Edwards departure.

Edwards reportedly described Kerry as someone "who has fought for and will continue to fight for the things that all of us believe in: more jobs, better health care, cleaner air, cleaner water, a safer world".

Edwards and his wife Elizabeth have three children.

Independent
Presidential Candidate: Ralph Nader
The rise of Ralph Nader as a nationally recognised figure in the USA is a clear indication that left-wing politics - focused on abolishing corporate-led globalisation - is steadily gaining popularity.

Nader was born in Connecticut in 1934 and was educated for his law degree at Princeton and Harvard universities.

After he became a lawyer he spent most of his life campaigning for the rights of consumers and workers against corporations.

According to BBC online, Nader became a consumer advocate in the 1960s and made a name for himself by publishing a book on motor safety entitled ?Unsafe at Any Speed?, which, as a direct result, led to seat belts being installed in every vehicle as well as the production of shatter-resistant glass.

Nader has built a steady reputation as a campaigner for the working class by dealing with issues ranging from workers? rights and public safety to the environment. He is also reportedly the founder of a number of human rights organisations including Public Citizen, one that has been actively protesting against the World Trade Organisations and the International Monetary Fund.

He first entered politics as a write-in presidential candidate in 1992.

In 1996, reports CNN online, he agreed to run as the Green Party's candidate for president but only succeeded in gaining 0.71 percent of the national vote. In 2000 he was nominated as the Green Party?s presidential candidate. During this campaign he actively contested by raising funds and was reportedly backed by several high-profile celebrities.

CNN online reports that Nader had achieved a drastic increase in his national vote total by achieving 2 882 955 votes or 2.74 percent. But it was Nader?s 97 488 votes that he received in Florida that brought him to the attention of Democrats, as presidential candidate Al Gore had by then lost the state and the election.

As a result of the 2000 elections Nader had reportedly angered many Americans and in the process hundreds of people have cancelled their campaign donations to consumer organisations Nader had either established or supported.

Nader has failed to gain support from the Green Party but has been reportedly endorsed by the Reform Party, which was created from Ross Perot's 1992 independent presidential campaign.

This will be Nader?s fourth bid to gain the presidency.

Vice Presidential Candidate: Peter Camejo
Peter Miguel Camejo was born in New York in 1939.

He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and successfully achieved a perfect score in his Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT). He, however, left the institution before graduating, reports CNN online.

The report also states that he later attended the University of California but was suspended in 1967 after protesting against the Vietnam War, an event which coincided with his victory during a student council election.

Camejo had been quite prolific in his anti-war protest in the 1960s and even had the honour of marching in Selma, Alabama, with Rev. Martin Luther King, reports CNN online.

According to BBC online, Camejo co-founded the California Green party in 1991 and decided to run for governor of the state during 2002 and 2003, but only succeeded in ranking fourth behind the victorious former actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Camejo maintained a steady career as a stockbroker. He also served as a consultant for groups promoting environmental and socially responsible investments.

According to CNN online, Ralph Nader once described Camejo by saying: "He is a man who has put his principles in practice, who's fought the struggles of the civil rights movement, labour rights movement in the '60s and '70s."

Comejo is the chairperson and co-founder of Progressive Asset Management Inc, a firm whose investments focus on economic, social and environmental change, making one of the benefits that he would offer the US government his expertise in various financial matters, CNN online.