The US elections dominate most Polish papers. “Who will conquer America?” asks RZECZPOSPOLITA daily, adding that in Poland, Democratic candidate Barack Obama is twice as popular as the Republicans’ John McCain.

Press reviewed by Elzbieta Krajewska.

“It seems that Poles too feel the need for a great change in Washington” says the paper’s commentator. Meanwhile DZIENNIK writes “McCain can only count on a miracle” – also commenting that “Obama is like Denzel Washington and McCain – like one missing in action”.

GAZETA WYBORCZA headlines “This is the voice of America”, asking if the States will elect history’s first non-white president. Looking from Poland’s point of view, the daily actually concludes that either candidate would be equally good or equally bad. Which does boil down to the fact that “Poland and Europe need a strong and efficient US President” and “whoever he will be, we should wish him all the best”.

Over to METRO daily, distributed free of charge in the Warsaw underground, which looks at the voting preferences of the Polish diaspora in the USA, around 10 million strong. ”Half each” reports the paper. Not surprisingly, young voters are going for Obama, while the more conservative older generations prefer McCain. “Like the rest of the population, they are mostly interested in how the new president will deal with the financial crisis” writes the paper.

From another angle, the tabloid FAKT looks at the two candidate… First Ladies. “Who will it be?” asks the paper “Working class girl Michelle Obama – 16 years married, two children, lawyer by profession, likes listening to Stevie Wonder” or Cindy Lou McCain “a businesswoman with an indecently rich family background, McCain’s second wife, 28 years married, four children, teacher by profession, likes the Rolling Stones”.  FAKT predicts she would be a “quiet support” to President McCain but President Obama’s First Lady would be “active and not camera shy” and she is already being compared to Jackie Kennedy.

For an altogether different matter, over to DZIENNIK, which reports that national Polish football team coach Leo Beenhakker’s “days are numbered”. The new Chairman of the Football Union, Grzegorz Lato, was never enthusiastic about a foreigner on the job. Rumours are he will want to dismiss him at the earliest opportunity – probably next March. Unless, of course, the Dutch coach resigns before that DZIENNIK writes.

And lastly, a Polish response to news from Britain that a little alcohol in pregnancy may actually do the baby good. METRO quotes outraged Polish specialists saying that any theory about better social skills of children raised by parents who drink is just totally absurd… and asking if this means humans should be building relations while under the influence of psychoactive substances that dull the emotions.