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Hey, wouldn't it be nice if someone gathered all public media coverage of this year's election and put it in one place on the Internet?

Someone has.

PBS Vote 2008, a site that draws news stories, video, online tools and user comments from public television and public radio sites across the nation, launched yesterday.

"There are tons of places online to get breaking news, but it can be hard to find context and analysis. This site provides all of PBS's in-depth reporting in one place," says Laura Hertzfeld, content manager for PBS Vote 2008.

Today the site features links to "NewsHour" correspondent Gwen Ifill's exclusive interview with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, an "Election Connection" blog entry on the role of public television's minority reporters at this year's political conventions and links to such sites as the "American Experience" presidential page.more

It's been a busy, noisy week in PBS's corner of cyberspace. For instance, users are debating a "To the Contrary" segment on YouTube's PBS Channel about Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who is poised to become the nation's first woman four-star general.

Specialks1953 writes, "I have nothing against women being recognized for their accomplishments. The best criteria would be, '[I]f she were a man would she have achieved her rank doing what she has done?' I do not know the answer to this question."

But likes2p takes a more inclusive view: "Congrats! Now women can be used cynically the same way as men in the military. Equal stupidity for all."

It seems Bill, a visitor to the "Vote 2008" blog at the "NewsHour" site, is feeling pretty cynical these days, too.more

Darfur, the housing crisis - and hey, what's this? - Britney Spears are the big topics being bandied about in PBS's corner of cyberspace this week. Users are responding to "Heart of Darfur," this week's "Wide Angle" film on the humanitarian crisis that appears to be intensifying.more

The floodwaters continued to recede in Iowa this week, revealing plenty of destruction, but also some old-fashioned neighborliness â€" with a digital twist.

Dan Wardell, who appears on Iowa Public Television as Dantastic, host of the IPTV Kids Clubhouse, has spent the past few weeks visiting with children from flood-damaged communities and blogging about it.

"The kids come up to me and say, 'We're staying at Grandma and Grandpa's right now. We can't get to our house,'" Dan says. "They don't have homes. They don't have their toys. … For me it's an honor to do what I do."

Dan is visiting victims of the flooding as part of his Reading Road Trip, an IPTV-sponsored campaign to promote childhood literacy in 60 cities across the state.

At each stop, Dan visits the local library to read to kids, sometimes drawing as many as 550 parents and children. more

Hillary Clinton is no longer running for president, but she's still a big part of the race if the comments you're leaving on PBS Web sites are any indication.more