Undecided? Curious? Election 2008

My blog is not a political one, but in these last days before the election, it's impossible for me not to think about politics a lot more than usual.

Instead of stumping for my candidate (Go Obama!), I thought I'd be a bit more thoughtful and throw out some resources to people who aren't sure of the issues, or who have questions, or who are trying to figure out what is candidate spin and what is real. It's easier said than done, isn't it?

Here are some resources:
http://myelectiondecision.org/
This is a blind survey, which lists each candidates views on various issues, and you check whether you agree, disagree, etc. with each viewpoint, without specifics on whether it's McCain's viewpoint of Obama's viewpoints. At the end, you get a score for each candidate, and you can determine which candidate most speaks for your viewpoint. It's truly bipartisan - it doesn't use negative or positive language for either viewpoint, it just summarizes what the candidates themselves have said in each of five areas.

http://www.factcheck.org/
This website analyses the candidates' claims, and debunks what is real and what is not. All that negative campaigning is hard to sift through - what is real and what is false? This is a bipartisan website that researches the claims on both sides and presents the truth.

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
I've recently discovered this website, and I love it. It appears to be bipartisan - it doesn't hesitate to rake either candidate over the coals, and that's what I need! It has more information than factcheck.org, and that's good because my only complaint on FactCheck is that it doesn't have everything.

And then there are always the candidates themselves. If you can sift through the spin, you can at least find out what they are saying, and see their promises as they state them, not as their opponents state them.
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
http://www.johnmccain.com/splash32615.htm
These are the two official sites. Beware of posers! Independent people have websites up representing either candidate, so make sure you know where your information is coming from.

This afternoon Ryan and I are going to go through our voter pamphlets and fill in our absentee ballots and deliver them safely to the post office mailbox. VOTE! This election matters. It's important that your viewpoint is heard - and I mean that, even if your viewpoint is different than mine. Vote!