To make a truly informed decision on a candidate for public office, you have to find sources of information that are independent and comprehensive. There are lots of public interest groups out there providing good information. Let me recommend two for your browser bookmarks.
One Vote Under God provides a slick graphical interface that quickly links each candidate to the views they have expressed as reported by the news media. One Vote limits itself to 8 topics: abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, education, faith-based initiatives, the environment, the death penalty and religious extremism. They also include information about each candidate's religious background.
For more depth, go to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life — Religion and Politics '08. This is a terrific resource that continuously tracks the religion and social policy angle in the 2008 election.
Pew has assembled a lengthy profile on each of the presidential candidates, including basic biographical info, a "religious biography" and the candidate's position on the issues in his/her own words, including: abortion, church and state, the death penalty, education, the environment, faith-based initiatives, gay marriage, health care, immigration, the Iraq war, poverty, and stem cell research. Pew, which conducts public opinion research, also has links to various polls comparing the candidates.
One of the great benefits of the web for democracy is the availability of good information. Go and read.
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Thank you for this. It scares me sometimes how many people head off to the polls with no clue as to why they're voting for a particular candidate.