You'll love these weblinks chosen by our expert librarians.

Commercials and Debates: The Living Room Candidate

• Commission on Presidential Debates – "The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners." Look for a link to Debate History for facts about historical presidential debates.
• The History of Televised Presidential Debates – Essays, interviews, and guides to the role of debates in presidential races, including video of debates since 1960.
• The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials from 1952 - 2008 – Fascinating look at the presidential campaign commercials of yesteryear.

Non-Partisan Organizations

• The American Presidency Project – A very complete electronic source of everything you ever wanted to know about the Presidency from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Includes audio and video clips back to the Hoover Administration, Executive Orders and Proclamations, Transcripts of Debates back to 1960, and much more.
• Fact Check: Annenberg Political Fact Checker – Based at the University of Pennsylvania, this is a "nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. [They] monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases."
• League of Women Voters of Philadelphia – The League of Women Voters of Philadelphia provides a one-stop portal for non-partisan information on voting, election information, civic education, and civic participation.
• Project Vote Smart – Project Vote Smart allows voters to scrutinize candidates voting records, issue positions, interest group ratings, public statements, campaign finances and biographical information.

On Voting and Elections

• Ben's Guide to Government for Kids – A simple guide for children on how our government works, divided by age range.
• Elections, the American Way – This kids' site from the Library of Congress covers the history of voting in the US, with emphasis on suffrage for women, African-Americans, and Native Americans.
• The Electoral College – The Electoral College was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The people of the United States vote for the electors who then vote for the President. Read more here.
• Federal Election Commission – In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act. This site includes data on campaign contributions to all candidates, along with maps that show where contributions originated.
• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – One of the Election Assistance Commission’s primary mandates under the Help America Vote Act is to serve as a central resource for information about elections. This site includes information about registering to vote and serving as a poll worker, along with studies on how, where and when we vote.
• Vote: the Machinery of Democracy – The Smithsonian Institution has put together this website on the history of the technical and mechanical aspects of voting in the US.
• Votes PA – The Pennsylvania Department of State's online guide to voter registration has everything you need to know about voting in the 2008 Presidential Election.