Politics Wednesday -- The Beginning

Growing up I was always told "Never talk about Politics, Religion, Sex or Money". Now I've never been shy in talking about Sex or Farts (most think that should be added to the "polite" list as well) and though I have yet to post something on either one of these, I'm sure they'll come up eventually. However, I've always tried to avoid the topic of Politics unless I'm with close friends whom I know either agree with my point of view or are kind enough to take it with a grain of salt should they disagree.

Recently talking amongst these select few, I realized that most of us are judging candidates on the sound bytes we happen to catch quickly via television or radio. Or sometimes it's just a feeling we get from the candidate. But with the 2008 election nearing, I feel compelled to DO something.

What IS that something? Educate myself and others about the election process, the issues and the candidates. Now I'm no expert by any means and I've forgotten quite a bit about the whole thing since my college years and my high school Political History class (sorry, Mr. Rudolph). And since I know my blog isn't read by many people, this will probably be more of an exercise to re-educate and inform myself.

However, I do hope some of you find the information I'll be posting each Wednesday a worth while read (if I do not have enough time or enough material, this might turn into a monthly thing). I realize this is testing fate and may incite flaming on this blog but I also know that the people who are currently reading this blog are decent folk with open minds.

Here are some general guidelines I'd like everyone to keep in mind while reading:

Try to read thoroughly with an open mind (and I will do my best to boil down the topics to a nice, digestible read without losing the flavor or meaning)

Think about your comments before you respond in anger (should that emotion arise within you)

Understand that I am NOT an expert and will most likely be gathering the information from multiple sources (I will try to cite those sources as often as I can)

I will always begin the post with "just the facts" and then reflect on their meaning for me (this section will be flagged with a "My Soapbox" graphic or title or something -- not quite sure yet).

Sometimes I will "give assignments" to see what others came up with which will offer an opportunity to shed light on things I may not have considered or missed (although feel free to share any valuable information you think is truly a contribution to the discussion at any time).

Speaking of which .... YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT:

Go to one or more of the "candidate quizzes" linked below to see where you stand right now. I say "or more" because I took a couple and came up with a few different answers, plus they're not all built the same. It is crucial that we start here since the primaries are about a month away for most people (sorry folks in Iowa, New Hampshire, Republicans in Wyoming ...).

USA Today Candidate Quiz
Glassbooth Candidate Quiz
Politalk Candidate Quiz

There's no need to comment about who your candidate turned out to be, however, just keep it in mind for the future. It will be fun to take this quiz again in a month to see if your candidate selections are still the same for the primaries. Then we'll do it all again for the November 4th election!