Spend time researching political candidates

One of my favorite ways to learn about the candidates' positions is with the Washington Post's candidate profiles -- http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/?nid=roll_08campaign

If you click on a candidate, look at the links under "On the Issues" and there's a (somewhat) in-depth explanation of their views on at least a dozen issues.

My main issue with people who fail to research the candidates is not that their vote is somehow inferior. The problem comes up when engaging in political discourse. Instead of talking intelligently about candidates opinions or even moral fiber, true thought is thrown by the wayside. For instance, there is some persistent and salacious e-mail that spreads some rumor about Obama being a Muslim.

The New York Times has a handy matrix and just a really good Election 2008 guide. For instance, here's everybody on health care:

http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/index.html#/context=index/issue=health

(On the other hand, I just now discovered that Richardson dropped out of the race, so clearly I need to spend more time getting informed myself...)

I'm really bad at this. Maybe we could discuss the potential candidates here...

Don't just vote the way your parents or colleagues or friends do. Take the time to research candidates yourself and form your own opinions.