2008 Presidential Candidates: Keeping Informed

Being an informed voter and voting in presidential and state elections is probably the most important role one has as a citizen in the United States of America. As such, finding the best ways to keep informed about elections is important. I have faced the fact that at this time our system is a two party system when it comes to the presidential election. I do not like this fact and I hope another party can step up to the plate soon. However, the system being as it is, the places I look for information on presidential candidates may be biased towards these two parties solely, leaving out any talk of other parties.

I have found that the best places to find information on presidential candidates are online. Personally, I have researched the upcoming presidential candidates a lot already, but I will be keeping up with the debates and some of the key speeches as time goes by. Some might think it is a bit early to be looking at candidates when the election is over a year away. I will remind those of you that think this that the primary elections are in February. I know very few voters, if any, that vote in the primaries, but I feel it is the most important part of the election process because it is the only time you get to decide out of well over a dozen candidates, which one you want to make the cut. I encourage everyone to inform themselves as a voter, try to remain open minded, and vote in the primaries when they come around.

Here are a list of websites I recommend for finding out about the candidates:

1. Candidates@Google (Google's QA Sessions With Candidates)
   
2. YouTube's You Choose '08
3. OnTheIssues - 2008 Presidential Race Speculation
4. Project Vote Smart - 2008 Presidential Candidates
5. Presidential Political Compass (Not useful but interesting)
6. Pick Your Candidate (Uses 2decide's On The Issues)
7. Council on Foreign Relations - Issue Tracker
8. Election.tv
9. Tech President