This assignment is intended to have you do some investigation regarding politics and the web in advance of the lecture and discussion in class on the internet and the political process. The purpose of this question isn't to argue a particular position on a political issue, but rather to investigate the use of the web in the political arena. However, to do this we do have to look at real issues and how they are treated.
Pick a current issue that you feel is both important and controversial. (For example, it could be health care coverage, campaign finance, abortion, US policy in the Middle East, how much money should be spent on the military, tax policy, or anything else you think is important.) Look at the web sites for the Bush/Cheney and Gore/Lieberman campaigns, and also the web site for at least one third-party campaign. You can find links to these from the official Washington State Voting and Elections Information page. Try to find out the candidates' positions on your selected issue from the official campaign web site.
Your answer to this part of the assignment should be a short, well-written essay. (Use the English composition skills you learned in freshman English and in high school!) First briefly describe the issue, then describe the position of each of the candidates you surveyed. Finally, for each campaign describe how well the web site served your needs. Was it easy or hard to find information on the candidate's position? Was the information clear? If you were an undecided voter, would these web sites be useful to you in making your decision?
If English is not your first language, we realize that the composition part may be challenging, but please do your best. Finally, if you are a citizen of another country, you can instead make a similar investigation of political web sites in your own country.
E-mail your essay to your TA on November 1, before 2:30pm.
This assignment will be graded on a 0 - 1 - 2 scale (0 for not turned in or unsatisfactory, 1 for satisfactory, 2 for exceptional).