Who is using the internet better?

Both candidates have their own websites. This is the only place where they can control the facts entirely. So it is important to see who is taking more advantage of this resource.
Obama’s site is well organized, user-friendly, and constantly updated. McCain’s website has several videos that play automatically when you open the page, it is full of large images, and doesn’t really have much of a pattern to it.
To be able to influence a voter’s decision, your site has to have plenty of opportunities to get voters involved. I feel like Obama’s website is easier to follow, and therefore people are more willing to look at it for longer and maybe volunteer or donate money. McCain does a decent job at offering volunteer opportunities, but his focus on putting down Obama and I don’t think that is working. It is fair to say that Obama is using this inexpensive resource better than McCain, and that may be one of the reasons why he is more likely to be our next president.

The Good and the Bad

http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
http://www.johnmccain.com/

The internet has become to us, college students, and to a huge portion of Americans, the most used and valuable type of media. The internet is where we get our mail, entertainment, news, essays (just kidding), etc. The candidates are aware of this, and their campaigning efforts have reflected it.

Candidates use their personal websites to raise money, influence voter decisions, and develop campaign activists. Websites are a very inexpensive way of reaching the masses and to humanize the message of the candidate. But the problem with this media is that it is impossible to target a specific audience when you use it. And that is why, surprisingly enough, direct mail is still the most effective way to communicate a message to a specific audience.

Let the Whipping Begin!

In a bold and hilarious statement, John McCain said he was going to “whip” Obama’s “you know what” on the third presidential debate. Let me make one thing clear before I continue though, I don’t think the statement is funny because it is impossible for him to do it; I think it’s funny because it just doesn’t sound like what a 72 year-old presidential candidate would say.

The third presidential debate is taking place tomorrow. Both candidates will try to make an impact on audiences by not only increasing voters’ knowledge of issues, but by also persuading some undecided voters to vote for them (shift limited numbers of voters). This debate is going to be especially important for McCain, who lost the previous two debates. McCain is going to have to move away from general statements to specific actions he would take if elected president. I think the reason why I have yet to be impressed with either candidate during a debate, is because neither one of them touches on anything in depth. The both float around vague statements and overused attacks the whole time, and I think we are all tired of that.

Hopefully we will get more substance in this last debate from both candidates, but there is only one way to find out…and that is why I’ll be watching it.

Changes in Politics

I believe politics is a changing game. The people change, the issues change, the situation changes…everything is constantly in motion. One of the big changes we are now seeing is the Decline of Political Parties. We now focus more on the person than on the party they represent…but do we? It seems like at the beginning of the election we were focusing on people rather than parties. But with the economic crisis, I have noticed a shift back to looking at Parties more than at candidates.

From what I can see (I am not expert though), there are two reasons why the economic crisis has helped Obama in the polls: because he has been clearer about his financial plan, and because McCain is a Republican. If we are shifting away from voting for Political Parties, why is it that McCain being Republican has turned into such a negative thing? Obama has been relying on the message that McCain represents the “same old Washington Politics,” while McCain has been trying to portray himself as a “maverick” of Republicans. Is this decline of Political Parties? McCain is trying to distance himself from the current administration to gain votes, while Obama is trying to make him seem like all other Republicans. The polls indicated that Obama is ahead, and that people do not want to see a Republican in office because they want to see some “change”.

Maybe Political Parties play a bigger role than we all think…

What Will Be The Deciding Factor?

Voters are still making up their minds and the pools have been pretty even lately. In the last week though, all that has been talked about has been the economy. And take a wild guess on who leads now. “A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks.” Could the economy be the deciding factor in this election? There is a good chance. Obama now leads by 5 points, which is not a substantial difference, but puts him ahead. People want to see change in the economy and Obama is offering that. It is definitely not easy to be the republican candidate right now, thanks to Bush. And to be honest, I give a lot of credit to McCain for making the election this close.

It is unquestionable that the theme of this campaign has been, and will continue to be, change. Obama has a more Challenger Style than McCain does, and right now people are responding to that. Obama seems to have more energy, more of a fire when he speaks. He is very good at getting the crowd excited and involved, and he always seems to take an offensive position on issues. It is undeniable that he is a better orator that McCain. But McCain is making a very conscious effort to make people believe that he will bring change as well. On the video attached at the end of this post, you can hear McCain say: “Change is coming to a neighborhood near you.” So who will the American public believe? I’m not sure. But I do think that the candidate who can convey the message of change (especially economy change) and emphasize optimism for the future, will win the election.

You have to go to this website And then look for the video called: Economic woes boost Obama 2:41
The Website - http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/22/bts.obama.era.of.greed.cnn

Let's talk about what matters

The general election part of the campaign communication process has been a total disaster so far. Both candidates should be legitimizing the political system and meeting campaign expectations. Instead, what we have been getting is one personal attack after another one.

As I was trying to figure out what I was going to write about, I went to different websites to see what is making the news. All I could find were articles on how Obama is talking about McCain’s dishonest campaign, about how Republicans are taking political lying to the next level, and how both candidates do nothing but talk about insignificant lipstick references and offensive ads.

It is true that we all expect Republicans to talk negatively about Democrats, and vice versa. But this time the negativity has become the focus of the campaign itself. The attacks going back and forth do nothing in terms of informing the public and legitimizing the political system. I think more and more people are getting tired of the stupid and offensive comments and ads making the news, and are starting to not even follow the campaign anymore.

I personally do enjoy some dirty politics; basically because I feel like it draws people in and engages them in the process. Plus, let’s face it, it’s kind of funny. But when dirty politics become the main focus of the elections, all they do is make you what to stay away from politics and ultimately make an uninformed decision (if you even chose to vote, of course).

Both candidates need to stop talking about each other and start talking about us, the people they are supposed to be serving if elected. I do not care to read about what the other candidate is doing wrong. I want to know what you (Obama or McCain) are going to do to improve this country. I want to be able to write about real issues on my next blog, and not about crap that does not matter at the end of the day. Electing a new president should give us some hope about what the future is going to look like. But if it is anything like what we have been seeing lately, it’s not looking too bright.

By the way, the only news related to politics I found worth watching in the last few days was the SNL Tina Fey impression of Palin. How sad is that?