[sde]

it really helps when you post to make it clear on what you expect the code to be doing, and what it is actually doing.

i notice your opening <p> tag is not complete also. Put the closing bracket on it.

here's another way to approach it ... i'm going to put the css inline so it's easier to follow as an example. putting it in a separate style sheet like you have it a better practice though.

<div id="left_column" style="float: left; width: 150">
  <div>link 1</div>
  <div>link 2</div>
</div>
<div id="main_column" style="float: left;">
  main content
</div>