Spain eagerly awaiting U.S. vote

Spaniards stay up until the early hours to watch U.S. presidential election debates They are hoping relations with U.S. will thaw after disagreements over Iraq Prime Minister Zapatero withdrew troops from Iraq upsetting Bush administration Obama says he will meet Zapatero; McCain has not made a similar promise By CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman MADRID (Spain) -- Even by late-night Spanish standards - where most restaurants don't open for dinner before 9 p.m. - the U.S. election debates were very late, starting at 3 a.m. Madrid time (9 p.m. New York). Yet three Spanish television networks carried the debates live at that hour, translated into Spanish, and for the first one between Barack Obama and John McCain, a surprising 350,000 Spaniards stayed up to watch it, according to the TNS ratings service here. The next two... [read full story]