Election 2008 Resources

If you've been procrastinating about whom you will back in Iowa's presidential caucuses tonight, there's no time left. You'll need to cram.

The Des Moines Register's caucus Web site has plenty of information, including profiles, comparisons of candidates on issues and a list of caucus locations.

It is at DesMoinesRegister.com/caucus.

Another valuable resource is Project Vote Smart, which includes voting records for the candidates who have been in Congress, interest group ratings, and a searchable list of public statements and debate transcripts.

It is at www.vote-smart.org.

One of the key issues that candidates have been discussing in Iowa in the closing days of the campaign is health care. Health policy experts recommend that voters look at the Kaiser Family Foundation's Web site for an objective and comprehensive side-by-side comparison of both Democratic and Republican candidates' positions on health.

It can be found at www.health08.org/sidebyside.cfm.

Even more information on the presidential campaign and health care is available at the site's home page: www.health08.org/index.cfm.

If you're interested in reading up on what candidates have said on the floor of the House or the Senate, or how they've voted, you can go to thomas.loc.gov and search within the Congressional Record, the official record of Congress.

You can access the Web sites of the candidates who are members of the House or Senate through www.house.gov or www.senate.gov.

Videos of candidate appearances in Iowa and elsewhere are stockpiled at www.c-span.org.

Information on candidates' campaign finances is available at www.opensecrets.org, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. You can track how much money each has received from Iowans, for example, or which industries have been most generous to which candidates.

A Web site that bird-dogs candidates' remarks and ads for their truthfulness is www.factcheck.org.

Analysis, polling information, blogs, transcripts and links to news articles are at www.realclearpolitics.com.

The Iowa Democratic Party's Web site, which will have Democratic caucus results, is at www.iowademocrats.org. The Republican Party of Iowa site, which will have its party results, is at www.iowagop.net.