This is the first in an occasional series outlining the 2008 presidential race and the issues surrounding each candidate.

Because the major news sources and political pundits choose to smear and attack political candidates and their families instead of stating the facts, it is difficult to know where to turn in order to get unbiased information about the political stances of each individual candidate.

The American news media has stopped presenting basic information pertaining to the election, turning instead to one-sided articles supporting the political agenda of the author or newspaper.

I will be reporting the issues regarding the 2008 presidential election, looking at the individual views represented by both candidates, and presenting them as factually and simply as possible.

The candidates vary in their views on the national economy and raising taxes. Republican nominee John McCain believes that decreased spending and tax-cuts across the board will help lift our country out of the current economic slump.

Democratic nominee Barack Obama differs greatly in his stance on taxes and government spending. He believes in cutting taxes for the middle class and raising them significantly for families with annual incomes of more than $250,000.

Obama would also like to restore the upper two income tax rates to 36% and 39.6% respectively. This attracts much criticism, again portraying his policy of raising taxes on the upper class.

This election promises to be one of the most record-breaking and diverse elections in the nation’s history.