在師長的鼓勵下，小記試著申請美國東西方中心（East-West Cneter）的Jefferson Fellowships。這是一個從一九六七年就開始的計畫，每年邀請亞太地區各國記者就特定議題考察，當然，今年最火的美國總統大選，就是這期的重點。

在師長推薦函的威力下，小記很幸運地獲選為這期的JeffersonFellow ，可以到美國觀察歐巴馬與馬侃的「雙馬」之戰。參訪行程從十月十八日開始，到十一月九日結束，總計要訪問夏威夷州檀香山、亞歷桑那州鳳凰城、賓州伊利、俄亥俄州客里夫蘭以及華府。

東西方中心挑選每個城市，應該都是有特殊意義的，例如檀香山與鳳凰城，分別是歐巴馬的出生地與馬侃的選區，伊利是美國生鏽地帶（Rust Belt）的代表城市，克里夫蘭是有名的「搖擺州」（SwingState），華府是政治中心，每個城市都有值得觀察之處。

東西方中心的行程安排也非常豐富，有參訪、座談、演講、圓桌會議、早餐會、簡報等各種形式，對象則包括政府單位、民間社團、利益團體、候選人陣營等。可惜小記英文不夠好，必須很專心才能跟人家溝通，晚上還得挑燈夜戰研讀資料，才不致跟不上進度....說真的，比在台灣跑新聞還辛苦！

不過，總算是有機會在第一線接觸到美國總統大選，利用參訪機會，小記把見聞寫成選戰觀察，在聯合報上刊登。

以下是有關資訊，請各位看官參考。(資料來源http://www.eastwestcenter.org/jefferson)

Jefferson Fellowships

The Jefferson Fellowships program was launched in 1967 to enhance public understanding through the news media of cultures, issues and trends in the Asia Pacific region, broadly defined as Asia, the Pacific Islands and the United States. The long-range goal is to help news organizations build staff expertise about regional concerns and trends, so that their readers, viewers and listeners may be better informed.

The Fellowships provide the participating journalists with a wide range of perspectives through dialogue with professional colleagues, participation in seminars and meetings with business and government decision-makers, scholars and students, social activists, cultural analysts and others. These contacts, and a network of close to 500 former Jefferson Fellows, provide participants withresources on whom to call when they plan, assign, edit and produce news coverage involving or affecting the region.

The first week of the program consists of dialogue among the Fellows, including a short seminar led by each Fellow; lecture discussions with East-West Center researchers and other experts; and field visits. This will be followed by a study tour to cities in Asia and/or the United States.

Theme:  The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Program Dates:  October 18 - November 9, 2008

Study Tour Destinations:  Honolulu, Hawaii; Phoenix, Arizona; Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Washington, DC.

Funding:  All program and travel costs for participants funded by a grant from The Freeman Foundation, of Stowe, Vermont.

Who May Apply:  Working print, broadcast and on-line journalists with a minimum of five years of professional experience from the United States and the Asia Pacific region.

Fall 2008 Jefferson Fellowships Program

The Fall 2008 Jefferson Fellows are:

• Samantha BENNETT, Columnist and Web Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Anubha BHONSLE, Senior Editor/Anchor, CNN-IBN, Noida, India
• Ling-Jia FAN, Deputy Section Chief, Politics Desk, United Daily News, Taipei, Taiwan
• Miriam Grace A. GO, Assistant Managing Editor, Newsbreak, Manila, Philippines
• Tony HOTLAND, Reporter, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Indonesia
• LI Xueying, Correspondent, The Straits Times, Singapore
• Muhammad NASIR, Assignment Editor/Reporter, Khyber News Television, Islamabad, Pakistan
• Timothy PANKHURST, Editor, The Dominion Post, Wellington, New Zealand
• Sung Wan PARK, Staff Reporter, The Korea Economic Daily, Seoul, Korea
• Jonathan PEARLMAN, Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent, The Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra, Australia
• Makiko TAKITA, International News Staff Writer, The Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo, Japan 
• WANG Tian, Commentary Section Chief, International News Department, People’s Daily, Beijing, China

Americans will go to the polls on November 4, 2008 to elect a new President and Vice President and to vote for a host of other national and local offices. For the first time since 1952, there is no incumbent President or Vice President seeking election, and for the first time ever, the primary field includes both an African American and a woman as front runners. The race for President will certainly be about personalities, character and experience. It also will turn on the candidates' positions on key issues that have a major impact on the lives of ordinary Americans as well other countries. This year, the war in Iraq, national security, the U.S. economy, globalization, trade, health care and immigration top the agenda. But as was seen in 2004, there are other factors that can sway the electorate: Will "values" voters again exert their influence? To what extent will a candidate's likeability play a role? And this year, what impact will gender or race have on the election?

This special Jefferson Fellowships program will provide journalists from Asia, the Pacific and the U.S. with an opportunity to explore the important issues in this 2008 election, learn about the U.S. political process, observe this historic election and finally, discuss the outcome with U.S. analysts and one another. The Fellows in this program will benefit from the rich opportunity to share among themselves the perspectives of journalists from across the region and the concerns of their governments and people.

After one week of discussion sessions with regional experts and one another at the East-West Center in Honolulu, participants will travel to various areas of the United States to discuss election issues and attitudes with policymakers, business leaders, community activists, and most importantly, voters from a range of important constituencies such as recent immigrants, retirees, blue collar workers, factory owners, religious groups, African American communities, young people and women. In Phoenix, Arizona, John McCain’s home state, Fellows will explore the complexities of health care and immigration. In Erie, Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Ohio, cities in America's “rust belt,” an area hard hit by globalization, the program will focus on attitudes toward the economy, trade, social values, and America’s future. Fellows will observe the election in Ohio, the state that determined the 2004 contest in favor of George Bush and which is predicted to serve as a bellwether again this year. They will then travel to Washington, DC for a discussion with analysts, policymakers, journalists and others on what the results mean for the United States and its relations with Asia, the Pacific and the rest of the world.