US Politics: how do you get information about the actual platforms of the candidates in a race? All I see is blather about their poll numbers and haircuts.
I generally read the NY Times for news, but I'm fed up with their political coverage. It's all about image — who needs to impress who, who's attacking who over what — and I just don't care. I want intelligent discussion of the issues and the candidates' stances on them.
Political blogs, the few that I've tried to follow, have been even worse on that count. They've had lots of minutiae on the squabbles between candidates — who was lying when they accused who of concealing what kind of support for which organization that had ties to who when — but very little of the big picture, and very little talk of anyone's actual position. Plus, most of them are shamelessly partisan, which is a problem as far as I'm concerned: if I'm reading about, say, Giuliani, I want to know what he actually stands for, and not what a Ron Paul supporter would caricature him as standing for.
What I'm looking for is a discussion of the candidates' actual platforms, ideally with some historical context and analysis from people who understand this stuff. I don't care about anyone's image, ad budget, poll numbers, "momentum," wardrobe, hairstyle, or choice of pets.
As far as specific issues go, I'm interested in your pretty typical lefty stuff: energy and the environment, civil liberties, foreign policy, health care. But I also don't mind reading about other issues. If one of the candidates has a brilliant idea on how to deal with, I dunno, mortgages or diabetes or steel tariffs, I'd be happy to read a good explanation of what it is and why it matters.
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posted by nebulawindphone at 8:25 AM on January 7, 2008