issue 16 / volume 42 United States elects new Democrat president A review of Jimmy Carter’s rise to victory Mercedes Deutscher News Editor Another US election has passed, resulting in a victory for the Democrats and their candidate, Jimmy Carter, a former governor of Georgia, on November 2. Carter defeated incumbent president and Republican candidate Gerald Ford. Carter received 50.08 per cent of the popular vote and 55.2 per cent of the electoral vote, while Ford received 48.01 per cent of the popular vote and 44.6 per cent of the electoral vote, as shown by the US Election Atlas. The election came so close that the results were not fully totaled until early the next morning. The margin of popularity between the candidates is the closest to occur in a presidential election since 1916, according to PBS. Most of the swing states were central, with Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama containing the largest swing motions in the country. Carter did not start in high favour amongst Democrats, and had only a four per cent favour ranking within the party. However, in the course of a couple of months, Carter rose in the polls as the frontrunner for the Democrats, and even surpassed the approval ratings of former president Ford. Despite the disadvantage of running against the incumbent and being relatively unknown prior to his candidacy, Carter maintained an array of successes during the campaign, usually caused indirectly by blunders and inconsistencies by Ford. Carter’s obscurities and “clean-slate” fared well against Ford, who had a controversial image surrounding the Nixon administration and Watergate Scandal, despite having no direct hand in the scandal itself. Still, while Carter eventually had a sizable lead in the polls over Ford, that margin narrowed up until the day of the election. Some of Carter’s support had dwindled after a controversial interview with Playboy Magazine, in which Carter had said: “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” Although Carter’s answer led to some criticism from more conservative and religious voters, he also showed to be a more moderate, even conservative, Democrat, leading to some apprehension by America’s more liberal voters. As often pointed out by Ford, Carter was consistently called a “soft” candidate who could not handle the pressure of a presidential campaign. While Carter will not be inaugurated until January 1977, many feel optimistic about the upcoming president as the year slowly draws to an end. Image via historc.wordpress.com Image via cryptomundo.com Strange new shark intrigues scientists The discovery of the megamouth shark Lauren Paulsen Senior Columnist A discovery has been made by a US Navy ship 25 miles off the coast of Kane’ohe, Hawaii. While doing rounds, a soldier noticed something peculiar about the anchor. Walking closer to the bow of the ship, it was realized that there was a massive fish tangled in the anchor. It was in this way that the discovery of a new species of shark, the megamouth shark, came to be. This rare deep-water shark can reach 18 feet in length, almost the same length as the great white shark. Jaws fans needn't be scared, however, as this is a gentle planktivorous specimen, one of three, including the enormous whale shark and the basking shark. It’s strange to think ofa shark as being planktivorous, but the megamouth shark possesses a massive mouth to aid in capturing large amounts of tiny plankton and jellyfish. This shark has a soft body, large head, and rubbery lips. Its mouth can reach up to four feet three inches wide. Interestingly, it has luminous photophores surrounding its mouth, which scientists believe might be used to lure plankton towards the shark. Interestingly, the shark is also a poor swimmer. Little else is known about the rare megamouth shark. Scientists are having a hard time deciding which family it belongs to, with suggestions being made that it shares the family Cetorhinidae with the basking shark. Currently, it is most widely accepted to be the sole species living today from the family Megachasmidae. Much more research is needed to learn about this interesting deep-water fish, and while its family line may still be under debate, no one can deny that this distinct-looking shark is a great discovery for marine biologists and ocean enthusiasts.