SLIDESHOW: Election 2008: What Smaller Businesses Should Know About The Candidates

Like all the candidates, Obama's Web site is the hub for his proposals and positions. The first-term senator's site is every bit as telegenic as he is, yet the crisp Web 2.0 style doesn't obscure clear navigation, enabling visitors to easily get where they want to go. For smaller businesses, that's the issues tab, where Obama lays out his vision on a host of issues, including technology and the economy.

On technology, Obama is squarely in the net neutrality camp, contending that unfettered access will spur innovation and competition, particularly for smaller business and nonprofits. He also calls for a redefined broadband, faster than the 200 Kbps defined by the Federal Communications Commission, and a wholesale review of the wireless spectrum, both of which could open new possibilities for smaller business. He's also pushing for an increase to Federal Trade Commission funding specifically to fight cybercrime. To spearhead his tech agenda, he plans to appoint a national CTO.

Obama agrees with both Hillary Clinton and John McCain about the need to make permanent the research and development tax credit, an incentive that supports innovation investment for businesses of any size. Smaller businesses have long been cited as the reason for not raising the minimum wage; Obama avoids a debate over specific figures in favor of indexing the wage rate to inflation. His plan to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to employers with 25 or more workers rather than the current 50 and expand paid leave to all 50 states has ramifications for smaller employers. He's also lobbying hard for the Patriot Employer Act of 2007, a proposal that would provide a tax credit (1% of taxable income) to employers that increase the number of workers employed in the United States relative to employees abroad.