POLT 105: The New President's Prospects for Success

Reality Check on Hopes & Expectations

Obama in the News

• LexisNexis Academic
• Factiva (includes Wall Street Journal)
  • see also Staying Current [WORD doc]
• Obama Tracker by NPR -- day by day progress on domestic, economic, and foreign policy

The Candidate in His Own Words

• Transcripts of Selected Speeches (October 2, 2002 - November 4, 2008)
• Positions on Policy Issues
• Outreach to People/Communities
• Presidential Debate Transcripts

  Video Clips & Campaign Ads

  • Barack Obama on YouTube
  • BarackTV
  • Living Room Candidate
  • Ad Spotlight on NationalJournal.com

Presidential Statements & Actions

American Presidency Project

A searchable database of presidential documentation.

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

A week-by-week record of all official presidential activities, with links to full text.

Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents

The White House Web Site

See the Briefing Room and Agenda sections for information on activities (includes White House Blog)

Nominations, Appointments & Confirmations

• The New Team coverage by the New York Times
• Searchable database of Presidential Nominations (from Thomas)
• White House Transition Project "Since 1997, the White House Transition Project has combined the efforts of scholars, universities, and policy institutions to smooth out the American presidential transition."
• Head Count: Tracking Obama's Appointments by the Washington Post

Actions by Federal Agencies & Departments

Federal Register

The official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

Tracking Congress

• Thomas
  • Congressional Schedules and Calendars
  • Daily Digest of the Congressional Record
• CQ Weekly Congressional Quarterly's Magazine on Government, Commerce and Politics
• NationalJournal the leading source of nonpartisan reporting on the current political environment and emerging policy trends
• LexisNexis Congressional full-text database of all publications by Congress

Lobbyists & Political Action Committees

• OpenSecrets Lobbying Spending Database by the Center for Responsive Politics
• Lobbying Disclosure, Office of Clerk, House of Representatives
• LDA Reports (Lobbyists Disclosure Act Databases), Senate
  
• Encyclopedia of Interest Groups and Lobbyists in the United States
  Main Reference JK1118 .N47 2000 (this is the latest edition)
• Almanac of Federal PACs
  Main Reference JK1991.A744 2004-2005 (2008-2009 ed. on order)

Public Opinion & Analysis

• iPoll databank @ the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

A searchable database of poll data from academic, commercial and media survey organizations such as Gallup Organization, Harris Interactive, Pew Research Associates, and many more, starting in 1935

• PollTrack by NationalJournal.com
• Gallup Poll: The Presidency not all data available to non-subscribers
• PollingReport.com: President Barack Obama an independent, nonpartisan resource
• RealClearPolitics: Opinion, News, Analysis, Videos and Polls
• Think Tanks Directory & Search by Harvard Kennedy School Library

Blogs

• The Obama Blog by Organizing for America
• Obama's Challenge by Robert Kuttner
• Technorati -Search the blogosphere