Undecided about the 2008 presidential election?

[gblake]

The most important thing that you, young and old voters, need to do is look at the candidates platform and decide if the candidate represents your views.... Be informed and do your homework.

If studying platfoms comes first then I have a 2-part recommendation for what comes zero-th (because I distrust platforms and the processes that create them, and I believe actions speak louder than words).

0.a) Notice what powers are granted to the president/executive by the constitution (and give a little weight to the "bully pulpit" influence presidents exert over other parts of the government), and then ignore any claims candidates make about how they will accomplish objectives that simply are not within their power.

0.b) Look at the candidates' parties' platforms from several recent campaigns, and count how many of their planks actualy were accomplished and yielded the intended or promised net results.

Then carry out some of the other suggestions found in this thread.

Me - I personally like this approach to politics - "Any man who is under 30 and is not a Liberal has no heart; and any man who is over 30 and not a Conservative has no brains."

Quite obviously, healthy bodies need both hearts and brains.

Blake