Select2008 Blog - Comparing and tracking the 2008 presidential candidates

The Select2008 Blog was just added to the Wonkosphere directory of political blogs tracking the 2008 election cycle. The Select2008 Blog is one of the only 65 independent blogs tracking the 2008 presidential election - as opposed to over a thousand liberal and conservative blogs.

The Select2008 Blog currently focuses on the four top face offs of the 2008 presidential primaries - Clinton v. Obama, McCain v. Huckabee, Clinton v. McCain, and McCain v. Obama, by:

- Comparing and tracking candidates’ programs and policy positions, which is based on Select2008.com’s detailed analysis of presidential candidates’ electoral platforms (over a thousand bite-size questions);

- Compiling and reporting on Select2008.com’s live polling, which is based on 450,000 votes over the last month.

For additional information on Wonkosphere, here’s a summary in their own words:

“Wonkosphere is designed for those who seek an analysis of the political buzz that is timely and unbiased.

Wonkosphere tracks hundreds of blogs and web sites per day, more than any human can read. Patented technology text analysis technology identifies posts that matter, not just posts that are popular.

If you’re tracking individual candidates, our unique analysis will show you their share of buzz in conservative and liberal blogs, highlight the most representative posts, and tell you whether the tone of discussion about your candidate is trending up or down.“

Popularity: 28% [?]

The three major Democratic candidates to the 2008 Presidential election – Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama – have all recently released an economic stimulus package, as the softness of the U.S. economy comes into focus.

These plans include quite a few repurposed proposals, which are now being legitimized by the sudden worsening of the economy. Clinton and Edwards seize the opportunity to tout their “green” initiatives, as a way to boost the economy and convert blue collar jobs to “green collar” jobs.

There are three sets of differences between these plans: their respective size (from $25 billion to $75 billion without supplementals), their conduits (from tax cuts to direct hand outs) and their main beneficiaries among the working and the middle class, the retirees, the home owners hit by the subprime crisis, and the unemployed workers.

The charts below show that Clinton’s key measures focus on home owners impacted by the subprime crisis, as well as people hit by the rising cost of energy. On the other hand, Obama’s key measures are a large tax cut to the working and middle class and additional hand outs to retirees in need.

Popularity: 19% [?]