Rudy Giuliani's face has a permanent X drawn through it.

    John Edwards has one, too.  So does Fred Thompson.

    And, after Super Tuesday, more of the presidential veneers will earn the black permanent lines, doled out by Duane Muhammad in his eighth-grade social studies class.

    Muhammad's eighth graders sent in their ballots for this year's Kids Vote — a program where student choose their favorite candidates — on Tuesday. But beyond that, the students have been poring over the platforms of each candidate, and reporting their presidential preference to their class.

    Although the usual tract for eighth graders is to study North Carolina history, Muhammad expanded this year's course to understand the electoral process.

    "You can't learn North Carolina history without learning U.S. history," he said. "You're talking about the American Revolution. It happened in the 1700s. But what's that got to do with me?"

    He said the presidential elections were a way to segue those thoughts.

He even had a class election, where students developed their own platforms —  typically consisting of better locker rooms or drink machines in the hallways — and decided upon names and mascots.

    For Colby Phillips, the name and mascot came down to a compromise. She also  said the exercise gave her an idea of the extent of presidential candidate's platforms.

    "You really can't judge any candidate solely on one issue," she said.

    Phillips said that she would vote for Obama. Nu Chang, also in the class, said she would vote for Hillary Clinton because of her gender.

    The students chose their candidates based on what they listed as their five most important issues. Muhammad said he was surprised by the students' interests, saying they ranged from economy to gas prices. "And they can't even drive," he said.

    "I was real impressed with them," Muhammad said.

    Muhammad also said that the results of the voting won't be tabulated until later.