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AnchorDesk Staff
Jesse's Online Antidote to Campaign Propaganda

AnchorDesk Staff
ZDNet AnchorDesk
Friday, August 4, 2000
TalkBack!Add your opinion
People thought Henry Kissinger was joking when he said 90% of the politicians give the other 10% a bad reputation.

We know better. We know he was telling the truth.

Luckily, the Web makes it easier than ever to get information on political candidates -- including information they don't really want you to see.

With the Republican National Convention under way, and the Democrats' slated for Aug. 14-17, I've put together a list of Web sites you'll want to have ready in the months ahead. They'll help when you have that nagging feeling that a candidate is contradicting himself or backpedaling on an issue.

In case you want to try to catch a politician telling the truth -- hey, it could happen -- I'll start by explaining where to go for the official party line. Then I'll give you a list of my favorite antidotes.

PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
The candidates and the parties have, of course, grabbed their own online presence where they put their own special spin on the issues. They're good for a laugh and to see how the candidates are slamming each other.

PROPAGANDA ANTIDOTES
Sixty-five percent of voting Americans say they'll use information they got from the Web to make their decision, according to Yankelovich Partners. If they are smart, they'll get it from the sites below.

Project Vote Smart is my favorite nonpartisan tool for doing your own research on candidates. The site allows users to browse the text of candidate speeches, issue statements and position papers.

Politics Online bills itself the "fundraising and Internet Tools for Politics" site. The site pushes its own email newsletters and pulls together links for relevant technology-related political stories from around the Web.

The Center for Responsive Politics put together Opensecrets.org to distribute federally mandated campaign finance information. Learn who the biggest contributors to the campaigns are by name and by category, as well as how much money each camp is drawing in.

PollingReport.com has the latest polling information, not just on how the candidates are doing, but on voters' views on the issues. Find out, for instance, whether voters really do like Dick Cheney.

Slate powers the MSN Politics site with news, great links and tools that allow you to search for political contributors by ZIP code and name.

With any luck, these sites will help you figure whether Bush, Cheney, Gore, Nader and anyone else running for president fits into the 10% category or the 90% category. I bet you already have an idea. Where do you go online for the real dirt on political candidates? Tell me by hitting the Talkback button, or go to my Berst Alerts Forum where you can discuss it now with other readers. And don't forget to take our Quickpoll below.

How can you tell when a politician is lying?
His lips are moving

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