Kathy G., whom I met this morning during Geoghegan-related program activities on the North Side of Chicago, is devoting her blog, The G Spot, to some pretty intensive Geoghegan coverage. Be sure to check it out.
Many of the people that signed my Geoghegan ballot petition sheets today (taking their gloves off in the biting wind and whirling snow to scratch some congealed ink on frosted paper) told me they had voted for Obama in November but weren't convinced that the incoming president would make much of a difference given the culture of Washington. I told them that Tom G. was just the man to send to the House to shake up that sclerotic D.C. establishment.
With the polls in Obama's favor and the view of most pundits (not, of course, the consummate asshole Fred Barnes) that the election is his, I sit waiting for the expected dirty trick that Republicans are so good at pulling off. Whether it is voting machine manipulation or keeping voters away from the polls, or coming out with a new lie which is big enough to shake folks up, I don't know. But the last couple of Presidential elections have left me damned worried.
I get nervous when I see replays of joking comments like "McCain's not a Maverick... he's a sidekick" because I remember Ann Richardson getting a big laugh when she said George W. "was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
And politicians cracking jokes have hurt the Republican side as well. I remember Giuliani (and Palin) at the Republican Convention making fun of Obama having been a "community organizer." And on the news this morning as the usual pundits evaluated the success of each of the campaigns, they attributed the great strength of the Democrats to the "organization" of the Obama team and volunteers.
So I sit watching the last speeches and get ready to volunteer this afternoon at the Obama office in Shepherdstown. And I'll be glad when it is all over.
Please get out and vote... and vote for Obama/Biden.
What a difference a cycle makes. Already, we are seeing more and more great pieces written about the impact of new media on the election. It is far greater than is apparent in just the massive online fundraising numbers that Barack Obama is posting from online donors.
As Peter Daou aptly pointed out, the netroots carried forth when many traditional sources of power were silenced.
The other day Arianna brought up the fact that the Republicans are running from an old playbook, one where the traditional media takes any charge, say whether a candidate actually earned his purple hearts, and carries it forward donkey-esque as the 'other side of the story.' While this ignores a basic relationship, the opposite of the truth is a lie not another truth, it's how politics used to work (and still does partially.)
On a day when the Federal Reserve puts up an $85 Billion loan to AIG, after Lehman Brothers fell yesterday and Bank of America ate up Merril Lynch, both Presidential candidates are releasing new commercials pushing their economic plans. The economy is not likely to get better anytime soon, and neither candidate is doing anything to create new jobs, other than talk about the problem.
In comparing the two candidates' positions, Obama has a slight edge in terms of credibility: his economic plan was not created by the lobbyists and former Republican congress folk (like Phil Gramm) who got us into this mess in the first place. To hear McCain say that he is going to set up a Commission, like the 9/11 Commission that was virtually ignored by the current administration, is a confirmstion that he will talk big but do nothing. At least Obama has posted a fairly detailed economic plan that would change the government's overall approach significantly.
The best thing the political discussion on the economy has done is that it has removed the ongoing fluff about Sarah Palin from the Main Stream Media. That, in a way, is a blessed relief. Since she is not going to be interviewed directly by the press and will continue in highly controlled and scripted appearances, it is better to have the media looking away from her. There is nothing there and so many important things - like the economy - need to be on the active agenda.
As we get closer to the Presidential debates, having real issues to discuss will elevate the campaigns (and Reuters/Zogby has just put out the latest poll that has once again pulled Obama ahead - it looks like folks don't think the "fundamentals of the economy are strong.")
Let's watch closely where we go from here. There are 48 days left.
Why are outright false ads even allowed to be aired? Even after they are debunked as false, they continue to air, the longer the run, the more (in both quality and quantity) voters at large become convinced it is fact.
Much like Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul, Campaign Activists can be, uh, "interesting". Ok, some are flat out weirdos. But Obama's are a special breed and are certainly smarter and less wacky, they still have their own Culture and Language. Here are some terms you may never hear spoken in the light of Day. But an Obama staffer will testify to their existence. Well Maybe. Like AFTER the Election that is.
10. Barackoderm A converted Republican who now stands for Obama.
9. Obamatron A term that describes some O Supporters who want to talk about nothing but Obama. They also have no sense of Humor. Ahem.
8. Breaking Baracks in the Hot Sun When a new person is brought in to help the Campaign, they sometimes get their mettle tested by being sent to walk a, Uh, NOT nice neighborhood. Like where Zeke lives. Scary scary. If they come back, the rookie gets promoted.
7. StreetBaracker Term to describe some people who come from "Out of State" to help. Usually on the Greyhound. Some are doing it, Zeke thinks, just to get some free food and a place to sleep. They never bring a suitcase.
6. Obamabud Comes from Hawaii. Maui, in fact. Very fresh, brah.
5. BarackStar™, Energy Drink Instead of Coffee or even Latte's, Obama Activists drink a strange fluid made up of Kool Aide, crushed Berries and "Something else". I don't wanna know...
4. Wrong Side of the Railroad Baracks Some times Party Activists who are "Not as enthusiastic as they should be", don't get called anymore. To return to "Barackstar" Status they may have to go "Break Baracks in the Hot Sun".
3. Obamazombies After being hung up on and yelled at on hundreds of "ID calls", some Obama Supporters become desensitized and actually try and eat the brains of the living. Scary stuff. Beware.
2. Barackitis Sometimes people who had once been an avid supporters suddenly "find a reason" that they can't help anymore. This rare disease, is similar to Hillarytosis and Paulobia.
1. Obamormon Yep. Believe it or not, many conservative Evangelicals and Mormons have started working for Obama. These mainly young volunteers often "leave out" their religios leanings as they feel they are "weird" for opposing their hardcore parents leanings.
Elizabeth Edwards appeared via phone on National Journal's On Air, a Friday show on POTUS08 (which is on XM Satellite Radio channel 130). To be truthful, I missed it. However, thanks to the marvels of the Internet, I have read the transcript and listened to the podcast. Tammy Haddock asks Elizabeth questions about Obama's campaign, McCain's health care plan, and the issue of sexist commentary in the traditional media.
Q: Elizabeth, I have to ask you first, because I know you were overseas, because we saw these reports that Senator Edwards would not be interested in the vice presidential slot. Is that true?
Edwards: Um. Well, of course it's true if he said something (laughter). He was asked, wouldn't you make a good vice presidential candidate? And John demurred and said, I've done that, and I want to be as helpful as I possibly can to Senator Obama, but this is not something to which I aspire.
This weekend, the Darcy Burner Campaign team and Essco Safety Check of Redmond are sponsoring a toy test in seven Eastside and South Sound communities looking for lead contamination and other toxic chemicals. Parents can bring in toys (or other children's products) and have them tested on site without charge."
So not only do they get great PR, they also get instant access to a large group of concerned parents in the context of trade with China, an issue that is probably a big winner for Dems. Pretty creative.
It's also just a nice thing to do. Kudos.
Also, if anyone wants to teach me how to code an inset box, instead of using quote marks, I'd be much obliged.
The political market is structured such that the real money in political consulting goes to the specialists. If you focus on TV ads, or mail, or phones, or whatever, you make lots of money. If- like me- you don't like that kind of politics and/or are bored by specialization, you stay poor as a general consultant.
The thing is, though, it is diversification of tactics- having a lot of different tools in your tool box- that makes far winning campaigns.
This S-CHIP fight is a classic example, and as Matt wrote here, it is working. Blogs are getting their readers to call, we're paying for calls, and we're doing print ads. In the Bush Dogs campaign, we're profiling politicians, talking about Google ads, and discussing primary challenges. On the potential war with Iran, we are building a drumbeat on the blogs, getting politicians to take clear stands, and just this morning, the issue advocacy group I chair, American Family Voices, is going up with paid phone calls on the issue into targeted districts.
We obviously aren't always successful, but it is exciting to me as an old political campaigner to see the energy and creativity in the progressive movement right now: protest marches, TV and radio and newspaper and blog ads, phone call drives, Google ads, blogging, YouTube video, door-knocking campaigns. It is exciting to see all this happening, and it's important to keep being creative.
I often get asked by people whether a given tactic, be it Google ads or robocalls or TV ads or YouTube videos or whatever, is effective. My answer is that doing a single thing is almost never effective all by itself, but building a larger campaign with a lot of different ways to deliver your message frequently is. This is the kind of progressive movement we should be building- one that is aggressively trying a wide range of tactics, and is always willing to experiment with different ways of driving our messages home.
