This started out as a story on the 2008 presidential election and the candidates' views on financial aid for higher education. It ended up being an exercise in frustration as a citizen of the United States and as a journalist.

I had a lot of questions about what John McCain and Barack Obama planned to do for college and university students in this country. After spending hours pouring over the web sites, news and speeches of each candidate, I still did not have the answers I needed to write my story. If I could not get answers from the sources, then maybe the right questions just hadn't been asked yet.

My first call was to Obama's local campaign office. I identified myself as a journalist from the Clipper and said I had some questions. Two calls later I was talking to Eli Zupnick from Obama's press team. He seemed so happy to talk with me, it was as if he had been waiting for my call. I felt excited and even a bit special as I explained what I needed. I was asked to e-mail my questions and he even asked when my deadline was. I assumed from the tone of the call that I could expect to get answers and soon. First lesson, never assume anything. I was on such a high that I fully expected to get the same results on my next call.

My call to John McCain's local campaign office was answered by a nice but fairly uninterested chap who gave me the email address to a Don Skillman, who never acknowledged my e-mail.

In my e-mails, I asked both Skillman and Zupnick to reply by Thursday morning so I could make my Friday deadline. I have to say that I was not holding my breath about hearing from McCain's office, and I didn't. I fully expected to get answers from Zupnick.

Imagine my surprise when Thursday afternoon rolled around and I found nothing in my inbox from either campaign. I made some calls and when I talked to Zupnick again,I found out he sent my questions off to Chicago. Why Chicago, I asked myself? He never said anything to me about Chicago. In the end I received no answers from either campaign. Now I was mad. Not only had I been given the brush off as a reporter but essentially both candidates had snubbed me as a voter.

Now what? How was I going to salvage my story by deadline? I started pouring over the research I had done and realized that what I had was a totally different story. My new story you ask? It's called spin, 'what politicians seem to say.'

I started my research again with John McCain because I wasn't as irritated with him. His people had never promised me anything. Or had they? I recalled something I read during my research, it was from John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. He claimed he was not in the habit of breaking promises and neither was Governor Palin. Take a look at how he phrased that, 'not in the habit of breaking promises,' this does not mean he will never break a promise, but it sure does imply it.

Barack Obama in his speech, "Reclaiming the American Dream," said he wants to put a college education within reach of every American. We all know just wanting something doesn't necessarily mean we get and within reach can easily mean just out of reach too.

It's awful that we need to dissect every statement this way, isn't it?

In reading the book "Un-Spun, Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation," by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, I found ways to decipher the mixed messages and half-truths and become a more informed citizen.

Even if you have already made your decision and are planning to cast your vote on Nov. 4, 2008, you may find the hints I have listed from the book helpful because unfortunately, spin won't end until you do.

1. When you hear "average," always ask, "Does that really mean typical?" A single number seldom tells the whole story, especially with something as big and complicated as the U.S. economy or the federal tax system.

2. Judging an issue by its name is foolish. Better to say to yourself, "Okay, that's what they want me to think. Now what's the rest of the story?"

3. When you hear a politician talking about a "cut in a program he or she favors, ask yourself," A cut compared to what?"

4. When you hear vague phrases or carefully worded claims, always ask, "Are they really saying what I think they're saying? What do those words mean, exactly? And what might they be leaving out?"