US political websites

One of the most common requests I get from my friends back in Europe is for advice on which websites are best for following the US elections.

I have two crucial biases in my subsequent recommendations:

1) I strongly support Barack Obama;
2) Even more then 1), I value sites that add value to coverage.

With this in mind here's my list:

At-a-glance:

http://thepage.time.com/

Mark Halperin's The Page is a 'Drudge Report' of US politics and should be checked hourly. Halperin used to edit the formerly fantastic 'Note' at ABC News. He tends to overcompensate for what he views as historical liberal media bias by giving the Rebublicans the benefit of the doubt on most matters of spin.

http://drudgereport.com/

Matt Drudge may be a vile rightwing muckraker but he can sure break a story. Besides, his coverage this year has been notably pro-Obama (or perhaps just anti-McCain) - well, he is good at picking winners...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Ignore their blogs and op-eds and stick to their summary charts and graphs fopr an instant overview of the polls and state-of-the-race.

Best bloggers:

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/

From the inside track on what both candidate's senior staff really think, to adding real insight on both the horserace and the campaign as a whole Ambinder is outstanding.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/

Ben Smith offers good, solid reporting on the state of the Democratic effort.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/

Jonathan Martin does the same for the Grand Old Party.

What the blogosphere should be:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

The crown jewels of electoral analysis. Poblano (aka Nate Silver) slices and dices the numbers every which way to offer up polling, demographic and statistical breakdowns second to none. His support for Obama doesn't intrude upon his commitment to accuracy. If you want to know the future before it happens, go to fivethirtyeight.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/

Al Giordano offers pro-Obama analysis and smackdowns of chicken-little Democrats that's as fun to read as it is informative.

http://www.270towin.com/

A choose-your-own-adventure approach to the 2008 election. Play around with the map and send me your predictions!