CLICK AND DOUBLE CLICK: POLITICAL SITES GIVE PLENTY OF INSIGHT

Even though many of us are swept up in sports fever (between the St. Louis Cardinals and Rams), you can't help but notice there's an election going on.

For the last few years, I have been amazed how government has jumped on the Internet bandwagon. It has certainly increased the reach of government -- offering information and services beyond normal business hours (to say nothing of all those federal holidays).

But it's not just government itself that has provided this information. A number of non-profit groups have jumped in the mix, offering quick access to government information.

One of the best new sites I have seen is called FirstGov.

www.firstgov.gov

The site bills itself as the Web's "information portal for the United States Federal Government." They pledge to be your first resource to find any government information on the Internet from business and economy to money and benefits to science and technology and everything in between!

What's nice about this site is that it is organized for regular people, not government bureaucrats used to sifting through vast amounts of paperwork. It is divided into categories of information and topics.

The site also provides a wealth of information on three branches of the United States Federal Government: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial branches. This might come in handy for those school projects.

The site also has an extensive feedback function so you can share your likes or dislikes about the various programs or agencies.

Just remember that when you're looking at government Web sites, some of the information may be available in PDF format. That means the page looks just like a regular report or document, but it's searchable. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files, but the program is free.

I especially enjoyed the section called "Transacting Online." Click at the top left-hand side of the home page. There are the normal transaction links, such as buying stamps online. But you also find links to estimating your future Social Security, registering for the draft and reserving a campsite at a National Park.

Be sure to look at "Check Performance Online" in this section. You can compare nursing homes, find airlines with the best on-time records, find out how clean your neighborhood is or check out the air quality of your city.

Of course, we are in the midst of a hot and heavy political season. Who's telling the truth and who's bending the facts? A good place for credible information is C-Span.org, the same people who bring you legislative coverage on cable.

www.c-span.org

You can watch tonight's presidential debate live at C-Span.org. You can also chat with political analysts after the show. Their special online cameras include one fixed on the podium, along with a BushCam and GoreCam. You can see reactions at the moment the other answers a question. You can also go directly to the Debate Spin Room for behind the scenes look in the Media Center.

There's also an interesting Debate Search Engine. C-Span and Virage, Inc., have produced a video search engine for the 2000 debates that allows you to search C-Span debate footage by keyword and then view the candidates' remarks. This technology is simply amazing.

How important are the debates?

For interesting historical insight, check out the Web site for the Commission on Presidential Debates.

www.debates.org

You can take a poll (How many of the four televised debates will you watch?) or learn more about the debate process. You can also take a peak at debate history.

It's interesting to note the debates of 1858 set the stage for Abraham Lincoln's later run for the presidency. The site points out that debates in 1948 and 1956 were the only public debates among presidential candidates prior to 1960; there were no presidential debates between 1960 and 1976.

www.voter.com

Another good site to not only learn more about the debates, but all aspects of government can be found at Voter.com. It has a pretty catchy mission: "Delivering democracy to your desktop."

You can link to information on elections from the national to statewide level. You can also link to places to follow the campaign money or compare the candidates. They also have a nice roundup of newspaper and magazine profiles on the candidates and the issues. It's a great way to get a feel for the stories that are being written across the country.

You can also track key legislation or read the top political headlines of the day.

www.vote-smart.org

Another good place for information about the candidates and issues can be found at Project Vote-Smart. They figure the more facts and information people have, the better they'll be able to make their choices in the voting booth.

The American Political Science Association named this site the "Best Political Web Site" in existence. Quite a compliment.

There are two very interesting offerings I found under the Red Candidates button, off the home page. The first is "Who to Vote For Made Easy," which offers an interactive quiz. You tell them how you feel on the major issues and they'll match you with a candidate. Another great resource is No. 4, which offers the ability to search the presidential candidates' public statements in just a few seconds. It's all done by keyword search.

On the "Voting Made Easy" quiz, you are asked your opinion in 24 broad categories, ranging from abortion to gun control. Warning: It takes at least 15 minutes to answer all the questions. They then match you with possible candidates. Perhaps the best part was to realize all the issues that the candidates must consider. Whew. I'm glad I'm not running for president.

You've heard of the Red, White and Blue, so meet the Web White & Blue. This is another interesting Web site that focuses on politics 2000.

www.webwhiteblue.org

This site features a "Rolling Cyber Debate," which features daily exchanges among the presidential campaigns and responses to questions submitted by Internet users.

The exchanges have two parts: a Message of the Day from the campaign and a response to a Question of the Day submitted by an Internet user.

The Rolling Cyber Debate will be updated each day Sunday through Friday from Oct. 1 through Election Day, Nov. 7. The site also keeps an archive of past questions and responses.

Web White & Blue is a non-partisan and non-profit consortium of 17 of the largest Internet sites and news organizations that have come together to highlight the potential of the Internet to expand citizen participation in our democracy. Together, these sites reach more than 85 percent of the U.S. Internet audience, or nearly 70 million Americans each month. That's amazing.

What's your favorite political or government sites? You can e-mail me at jonia@sehosp.org.

See you in Cyberspace.

Joni Adams is webmaster at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, www.southeastmissourihospital.com.