Amazon Now Taking Presidential Donations

Yeah, this is off-base, but man is it interesting. Amazon is now letting you donate to US presidential candidates through its Web site. If you go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/misc/flag.html you'll see a list of over a dozen candidates, from Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) to Hellen McMullen Williams (Democrat).

When you pick a name you'll get information about the candidates including candidate statement, date of birth, birthplace, education, and prior jobs. There's also a link to the official Web site, and a tally of how much money has been raised for the candidate and how many contributions have been made.

The minimum contribution is $5 while the maximum is $200. You'll have to agree to several conditions (that you're over 18, that you can't cancel the contribution, that Amazon will share contribution information with the federal govenrment, etc.). Once you've done that and specified the donation, you're asked to sign in, so I guess things proceed as normal from there (I didn't donate to a candidate.)

I'm a little bemused by this. I guess it's a good idea, but I'm surprised at how few candiates were represented. I mean, I would understand (not necessarily approve, just understand) if they just covered Republicans and Democrats. But if you're going to cover Libertarians, why not add Socialists and Greens as well? I guess I can't understand how they decided to draw the line over which candidates would/wouldn't be covered.

And I was really, really hoping to get related recommendations: "People who contributed to this candidate also bought the following products..."

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