The library subscribes to these pay-for sites that you can search for information
United States of America Presidential Election 2008
Tuesday November 4 was Election Day in America. Democrat candidate Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America.
Election coverage
Primaries
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain brought the drama of American politics to our television news and newspapers as they campaigned from town to town in Iowa, New Hampshire and the other primary states. The first primary was Iowa on January 3 and the presidential election was on November 4, 2008.
The conventions at which the parties nominate their presidential and vice-presidential candidates have now been held. Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate and John McCain caused a sensation with his selection of Sarah Palin. Candidates often announce their candidacy early in the previous year and begin campaigning and fundraising straight away so the successful candidate will have slugged it out for nearly two years to reach the glittering prize.
Our Internet Gateway recommends
- Vote 2008
- News and background information and resources about the elections from PBS, the American Public Broadcasting System.
- USA.gov Voting and Elections
- Information on the electoral system, how to register and vote, how to volunteer in a campaign. From the official United States' government website USA.gov.
- Federal Election Commission
- The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.
- GOP.com
- The Republican National Committee - includes an overview of the party and its platform.
- Democratic National Committee
- Official Democratic party website.
Candidate's websites
Looking at the candidate's websites shows some interesting contrasts in approach to the selling of their candidacies.
Democrats:
Republicans:
Resources in our libraries
The drama of the Presidential election has attracted writers and filmmakers over the years. A recent example which is great entertainment and conveys the drama of American politics is the television series The West Wing. In the long running show (seven series) the drama of three presidential elections is conveyed including in the final two series a detailed dramatisation of the primary and presidential campaign of Governor Matt Santos.
All the President’s Men is the story of the Watergate affair as uncovered by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
The candidates have already attracted the writers:
and have also been in print themselves:
- John McCain – Faith of My Fathers
- Barack Obama – Dreams from my Father; a story of race and inheritance and Audacity of Hope; thoughts on reclaiming the American dream
Blogs and online news media
If you want to jump into the crazy world of political blogging, Wikipedia lists a number of leading American political blogs. Huffington Post, Instapundit, Daily Kos – they are all there, but be warned – it can get wild and woolly. Probably better to check out some leading media websites:
