His upbringing had been comfortably middle-class: a Calcutta doctor's son, St Xavier's, Presidency College, studies for the bar in London.

ECONOMIST: Jyoti Basu

Bush won the Electoral College, and thereby the presidency, by 5 electoral votes.

CNN: Obama's ahead, polls say, but will the lead last?

The candidate who wins in Florida will pick up all of its 25 college votes - enough to clinch the presidency.

BBC: Bush camp raises stakes

Shortly before Obama won the Presidency, Ginni Thomas took a position in Washington, with Hillsdale College, a small, liberal-arts institution in rural Michigan.

NEWYORKER: Partners