A Few Political Links

I’ve been buried in work since my last post and have a half-dozen, half-baked articles in the queue, but after going through my feeds this morning, a handful of links seemed to gel and I thought a quick post was in order.

Hack The Debate
The next debate on October 15^th is going to feature a live Twitter stream. I have mixed feelings about this, but I’m curious to see what this will look like. On one hand I think it’ll devolve into fart jokes, but since it’s a managed event there’s the possibility of some actual interesting comments from the online peanut gallery.

Two Proposals to Make Elections Better
My buddy Craig had a post on his blog today about two options to change how we vote and how the town hall debates. Although I like the idea of knowledge based voting somewhat, it’s very elitist (which I am) and I think would scare away too many voters. “What! There’s a test?” I definitely like the idea of changing the debate structure so that the candidates could really drill down on the issues. Makes me think the “Hack the Debate” idea has more merit than I originally thought.

Obama ’08: The Official iPhone Application
I downloaded and installed this application over the air during breakfast this morning and I have to say that I’m VERY impressed. Regardless of which candidate you plan on voting for, this is a brilliant use of technology. The app is a concise distillation of Obama’s position on the issues and is very engaging to boot. I had to sit back and give my best Joey Lawrence “Woah” when reviewing the “Call Friends” feature

Call Friends: A great volunteering tool that lets you make a difference any time you want by talking to people you already know. Your contacts are prioritized by key battleground states, and you can make calls and organize results all in one place.

Suddenly I’m pulled from the sidelines and being asked to take action. I’m not going to lie, it scared the shit out of me. Absolutely brilliant.

John McCain: Economic Disaster
The Obama campaign released this on YouTube on Tuesday, but made no mention of it during the debate, which kinda pissed me off. If you’re going to lob a grenade like this, don’t ignore it. The video, although somewhat boring, does illustrate McCain’s involvement in the S&L scandal quite well, which many people were too young or simply don’t remember. Of course there’s a clear parallel drawn between today’s financial meltdown and the debacle of the past.

Of course take it with a grain of salt, because the video clearly has an agenda and this is not a pure documentary.

Make Believe Maverick
OK, I don’t get my news from Rolling Stone magazine and there’s no doubt that their perspective is pretty far to the left. That being said, there’s a great deal of detail and quotes from those that were there and it did make me rethink some of what I like about McCain. But again, take it with a grain, or two of salt.

CNN Fact Checker
This site is one of the best things to come out of the 2008 political pageant — and yes, don’t think for a minute that this isn’t a pageant. Anyway, both parties are slinging digs into each other as to why the other’s plan is crap and given how the debates are so structured and dare I say it, neutered, I like that there’s a news source that’s publishing their fact checking.

The only thing missing is a tally showing just how truthful each campaign is being. In my cursory review, I’m seeing a lot of “True” and “Partially True” on the Obama side and a lot of “False” and “Misleading” on the McCain side. Regardless of which side you’re rooting for, when you break down all the rhetoric and decisive personal belief issues, you have to focus on the facts.

FactCheck.org
Ok, just one more. In composing this article, I decided to see if I could find a “Truth Tally” to the CNN link above, I came across this site. I need to dig a little deeper because there is a TON of detail, but I love this site!

For example, take a look at The Second Debate and you’ll see what I mean. They go point-by-point checking each fact that was presented and then providing sources at the bottom of the page. Great stuff.

Well so much for a quick little article, but hopefully you’ll find some of these links interesting and feel free to comment about them!