The next US Presidential election will be held on Nov. 4, 2008 and, similar to other presidential elections, it will be a major battle of ideas and dollars. The US President is considered by many to be the most powerful position on earth.

According to the US Constitution, any "natural born" US citizen over age 35 who has lived in the US for 14 years can run for President of the United States. Some of the President’s duties/roles include:

• Commander in Chief of armed forces
• Head of the Executive branch of federal government
• Signing Congressional bills into law or vetoing them
• Making treaties with foreign governments (with 2/3 approval of Senate)
• Appointing federal officers, ambassadors, and federal judges including Supreme Court justices
• Granting pardons or reprieves
• Using the power of his/her office to shape public opinion

The large amount of money being spent on advertising (for example, the Democrats spent $250 million and the Republicans spent $240 million in the 2004 presidential election) combined with partisanship, dirty campaigns, and biased or incomplete reporting often makes it difficult to figure out where candidates stand on important issues and, therefore, who to vote for.

We have researched the Democratic, Republican, and major third party/independent candidates and their perspectives on 65 issues ranging from abortion to global warming to the war in Iraq.

This site also contains the candidate's position statements and, if their position changed, we have displayed their original and changed views. We archive each candidate's information as they withdraw from the race.