Q) So, which campaign, party or PAC created this site?

A) MyElectionChoices.com is an independent, completely non-partisan Web site. The founders, who come from 3 different parts of the country and have voted Democrat, Republican and Libertarian, designed the site as a way for candidates with good ideas and small ad campaigns to be “discovered” by politically active voters. This doesn’t mean we’re biased against big money candidates. Rather, we hope we’re a way that the playing field can be temporarily leveled between small and big budget candidates.

Q) So if I agree to EVERY comment in EVERY category, will I get a result in which I support everyone equally?

A) Well, it won’t be perfect, but we’ll try to make it close. The problem is that some candidates have very shallow positions on certain subjects. So, if a candidate doesn’t have much to say on a topic you care about, it will be hard for him or her to collect a lot of points with you. You’ll find that the candidates with the most well thought out plans will have more statements than those with a single sound bite that they repeat everywhere.

Q) Suppose a candidate flip-flops on an issue? It seems like all they need to do is agree to both sides of an issue and everyone who takes the survey will agree with them.

A) Well, that’s possible, we suppose. But our editorial guys are looking out for that. Also, scoring well on MyElectionChoices.com is probably about 4 millionth on the list of things important to the campaign’s strategists. Flip-flopping to gain points here will likely cost them in an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times or Newsweek, so it’s probably not worth trying to game the system over here.

Q) So where did you get the statements?

A) For the most part, we’ve pulled them from candidate web sites. We’ve also used Wikipedia, and traditional media as sources. We have NOT taken opinion or analysis from traditional media or bloggers and turned them into quotes. Now, as a caveat, we’re not linked up to any sort of RSS feeds, so if we copied a quote from a web site, and the candidate has since changed course, we can’t be 100% sure we’ve caught the change. If you want to test the validity of a particular statement, simply google part of the statement and put it in quotes. You should be able to find the source. But if we’re inaccurate, please email us and we’ll update as necessary.

Q) Statements by politicians are meaningless, particularly if they are not given in context. Why don't you back the statements with voting records?

A) We'd like to think that statements posted on candidate Web sites and reported in major media outlets follow their positioning and real beliefs. We try to avoid statements said in front of small niche audiences and instead focus on statements made to the mainstream media. As far as voting records go, www.ontheissues.org does an fantastic job of that. And please remember, MyElectionChoices.com is just one of the many resources we hope you'll use when discovering candidates.

Q) Are you guys associated with OnTheIsues.org?

A) We’re not, but that site is great as well. We found it after we launched our beta. You should go check it out and fill out their survey. Hopefully the results will be similar.

Q) Where are all the Green Party and Libertarian candidates? How can you claim to be populist and only cater to the major two parties?

A) Well, we really looked at these parties, and originally tried to include them. The problem was two-fold. First, with no front runners in these parties, it became impossible to pick who to include, and then it just made the whole thing unwieldy. But more importantly, we found these candidates didn’t have much to say about a majority of the issues. Including someone because they had a specific plan for one issue, but nothing on a majority of them didn’t seem fair to candidates who had thought through a complete campaign plan. As a side note, throughout the entire pre-beta and beta testing periods, we didn’t receive any requests to include the fringe parties.

Q) I don’t see Fred Thompson, Al Gore or Michael Bloomberg on here. What’s the deal?

A) If they declare, and put up a campaign site, we’ll add them. They’re on our radar, but it doesn’t make any sense to speculate on non-candidates. Plus, in most cases they haven’t had to stake specific positions on topics, so there’s not much to include for them.

Q) I have some ideas to make your site better. Who do I tell?

A) First, fill out the Feedback survey at Survey Monkey. Then, email us at: comments@MyElectionChoices.com. This is an ever-morphing site, so we love feedback.

Q) I want to add some new topics. How do I do that?

A) Again, email us at: comments@MyElectionChoices.com. We’ll add topics based on # of requests, so the squeakiest wheels get the grease.

Q) Are you hiring?

A) Not at present. But convince us with an email loaded with analysis and emotion, and there’s always a chance.

Q) I just bought MyElectionChoices.com2008.com. Do you want to buy it from me?

A) Uh, no thanks.

Q) I see you have ads on here. Does this mean you aren’t just doing this as a public service?

A) We’re doing it for fun, and as free market capitalists, we won’t complain if it generates some money. (So feel free to click on an ad or two…..) But no one’s quitting their full-time jobs.

Q) This is a really cool idea. How can I help?

A) Register a bunch of groups and tell your friends. Make sure you tell us so we can thank you personally for spreading the word. And if you’re a graphic designer or database whiz, we might call on you for advice.

Q) I’m suing you for copyright infringement. Where do I send the summons?

A) That’s not cool at all. We’d prefer a Cease and Desist. Our lawyers say everything is cool, but there would be a certain irony if a political web site with populist tendencies was brought to its knees because some professional litigation fanatic found some legal loophole we missed. Just let us know if we’ve done something illegal. If PerezHilton can rip off every photo library on the planet by adding a stupid doodle, surely we can reprint public statements made by public people trying to maximize the public exposure those statements are crafted to generate.