On the Fence: A Voter's Guide To the 2008 Election

By Mark Halperin

We know. baseball playoffs have only just begun. You've barely thought about Thanksgiving, yet it's time to start figuring out whom to support for President. The recent announcement that Iowa voters plan to caucus while college-football bowl games are still being played in the first week of January just increases the odds that party nominees may be selected before most of the country has even tuned in. That's a problem, with the stakes so high in a country unsettled by war and so many untested--and still unfamiliar--candidates. A recent Time poll shows Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton leading their respective competitors nationally, but the race is still wide open. Bill Clinton has described campaigning for President as a job interview, with an application process consisting of unrelenting media scrutiny and a grueling coast-to-coast gauntlet of events and debates. Here we present the top-tier finalists for the job.

Click to see the voting guide.