Pen-Elayne on the Web

On the Issues

One of the coolest things about the Internet, of course, is its ability to provide information that you don't hear in the mass media in a clear and concise - and even occasionally fun - format. Take the major issues during this election year, for instance. While mainstream TV (whence most Americans get their news) concentrates, as ever, on the horse-race aspect of the Democratic presidential campaign, much to the frustration of the candidates (and the presumed delight of Republicans), there are lots of terrific resources online if you actually want to find out where they stand on the issues, and how closely their statements match up with your views. Besides the candidates' own sites, tons and tons of blogs have gotten in on the act; one of my favorite is Bryant Gries' ongoing Candidate Review series (check his sidebar for the links).

And MadKane has found two pretty good issue-oriented quizzes, and my results rather surprised me. On the SelectSmart quiz my current results are 100% agreement with an "ideal theoretical candidate," followed by 79% with Rev. Sharpton, 74% with both Dr. Dean and Rep. Kucinich, 70% with General Clark, 66% with Senator Edwards, 64% with Ambassador Moseley-Braun, 62% with Rep. Gephardt, and 62% with Senator Kerry. On the other hand, the Vote By Issue quiz (which I found pretty helpful, as it features actual candidate positions/statements and you click on the one that best fits how you feel)had me echoing Moseley-Braun's position on five issues (trade policy, terrorism, health care, education and poverty & homelessness), Kucinich's on four others (Iraq, the role of the military, security & civil liberties, and family & marriage), Dean's on two (employment and economy), and one issue agreement each with Gephardt (environment), Kerry (Social Security), and Lieberman [!] (gun control). Quizzes, as most bloggers know, are hardly scientific, but these (especially the latter) gave me a good overview on where the various Dems stand, as well as helping me clarify my own thinking on some stuff.