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Clinton visit shows importance state plays in politics

By DEBRA PERRY, Staff Writer

Sunday, March 23, 2008 9:05 PM EDT

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Former President Bill Clinton's campaign stop Tuesday at the Mason County Fieldhouse shows he's not only his wife's avid supporter, but the importance Kentucky plays in the on-going presidential race.

While Kentucky's upcoming May 20 primary was not originally expected to come with all the hoopla and fanfare of earlier state primaries, things changed as presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have failed to gather thus far all the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

The public is invited to the rally which will be held at the Fieldhouse at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are not necessary and the public is encouraged to attend.

Kentucky has a total of eight electoral vote which are all allocated to the party with the most votes in the general election. And at this point in time, each vote is critical. Clinton's current delegate total is 1485, 137 behind Obama's 1622 John Edwards has dropped out of the race but still holds 18. To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate much reach 2,024 of the possible 4,047 delegate votes. Or, if in the case that neither reaches the 2024 total needed, they will have to win the majority votes of superdelegates, who are not pledged but can vote for either Democratic candidate.

But before it gets to that, Kentuckians still have the task of coming to the May primary and subsequent November presidential polling place prepared.

In the last several months, the field of candidates on both sides has steadily been whittled down, and many eliminated in a quest to find the two candidates that will face off in the Nov. 4 presidential election. And while it is yet-to-be determined who those candidates are, there is still time for voters to research so they can make an educated, informed decision.

Research in the past consisted of reading newspapers, listening to radio debates, being an active part of one's political party, doing counter-point talks with neighbors of opposing views, and sometimes just going with your gut feeling about a candidate.

Today, voters can simply tune in to TV and the advertising campaigns that are likely to hit the airwaves as the May primary draws closer to hear a 30-second soundbite, or log on to the World Wide Web to find a plethora of Web sites and resources.

But visit Web sites with caution. Just because something is on the Web, doesn't make it accurate or official.

In fact, a recent search on the Web to find information about choosing a candidate found a variety of Web sites from authors with different agendas plugging their particular cause and candidate.

To check the authenticity of the information, viewers should first check the "about us" information, then view with caution.

Each candidate, and party has an "official" Web site and it's a good idea to gather a lot of information directly from that site.

Many candidates now offer a "blog" where they or those on the campaign trail write journal-like entries of thoughts, often with a behind-the-scene insight.

You can "be there" during a town hall meeting through live streaming video, and some candidates offer footage and videos of their past.

All included are schedules, transcripts of speeches and debates and where they stand on the issues. You may be required to sign in, so have a user name and password you feel comfortable with ready.

In addition to candidates individual Web sites, there are numerous Web sites that provide "candidate calculators," or roundups of voting records, ideals and issue positions that are very helpful. Once again, finding an impartial Web site is the best to find accurate information across the board.

You can also turn to news Web sites and political action Web sites which each have extensive pages devoted to political matters.

OFFICIAL 2008 CANDIDATE WEB SITES:

www.hillaryclinton.com

www.barackobama.com

www.johnmccain.com

www.mikehuckabee.com

www.ronpaul2008.com

www.votenader.org

OFFICIAL PARTY WEB SITES:

Democrats of Kentucky - www.kydemocrat.com

National Democratic Party - www.democrats.org

Republicans of Kentucky - www.rpk.org

National Republican Party - www.rnc.org or www.gop.com

National Parties - www.politics1.com (directory of U.S. political parties)

Libertarian party - www.lpky.org

NEWS MEDIA, INTEREST GROUP AND NON-PARTISAN WEB SITES:

www.votesmart.org (Project vote smart)

www.congress.org

www.frcaction.com (Family Research Council)

www.vajoe.com

www.cnn.com/election/2008

www.elections.foxnews.com

www.cbsnews.com

www.abcnews.go.com

www.msnbc.msn.com

Reader Comments

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.

concerned citizen wrote on Mar 24, 2008 5:06 PM:

" To just a thought..What a terrific thought. I hope something like this will happen "

Get Real wrote on Mar 24, 2008 4:15 PM:

" Isn't it a coincidence that Bill Clinton decides to show up in Maysville the day after the world premier of George Clooney's new movie? Sorry, Bill, George is a class act that is not easily followed. "

MomWhoWorks wrote on Mar 24, 2008 3:49 PM:

" If Hillary really cared about working parents, she would not allow her campaign to cause our schools to be dismissed at 1:00 tomorrow. "

Bush Supporter wrote on Mar 24, 2008 2:59 PM:

" Where is my previous comment? Could the Ledger be Partisn? "

Justathought wrote on Mar 24, 2008 11:52 AM:

" Whoever will be his host needs to show him where Jockey, TechnoTrim, and the other businesses that closed or moved due to NAFTA, used to be. "

Add your own comments:

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