Meaningful Election Analysis

This is not a suggestion for a specific story. Rather, it is a suggestion for a direction in coverage.

So much presidential coverage is transitory -- you know: 'who's ahead this week,' 'he said, she said,' ...

Around the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, stories emerged about a white paper prepared in 2000 by the Project for the New American Century for the Bush/Cheney campaign that advocated overthrowing the government of Iraq and establishing permanent bases there as the basis of a Middle East geopolitical strategy.

What can we find out today about

a) key advisers to the campaigns -- individuals who are very likely to hold White House positions in the candidate's administration

b) position papers that telegraph what the candidates' policies are likely to be

This would help us make informed decisions, far more than sound bites of campaign rhetoric or, worse yet, the usual horse-race coverage.