Their control of the chamber allowed the Republicans to block most of Buchanan's agenda (including his proposals for expansion of influence in Central America, and for the purchase of Cuba).

McCain was a strong believer in the domino theory, and as CINCPAC, emphasized what he saw as the grave threat of Communist Chinese expansion of influence.

Later, many Americans considered the agreements of the Yalta Conference to be a "sellout", encouraging Soviet expansion of influence to Japan and Asia, and because Stalin eventually violated the agreements in forming the Soviet bloc.

The main reasons for China's expansion of influence in Hong Kong seem to be to gain experience in capitalism generally and Hong Kong particularly, and to reassure residents that China does not plan radical changes in Hong Kong's way of life after 1997.

Victory for Mauricio Funes, a former television journalist, against the ruling party's candidate Rodrigo Avila, a former police chief who served in a Right-wing paramilitary unit during the war that ended 17 years ago, would signal a further expansion of influence of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez into Central America.