About Political Gastronomica
Political Gastronomica is a discourse on technology and online activism - how the marketplace of governing and ideas is improving with the efficiencies of the Internet.
Author Sanford Dickert, former CTO of John Kerry for President Campaign, works with political campaigns, non-profits and private companies from the Fortune 500 to startups.
Dickert leverages online community engagement techniques and technical vision for brand and message management through effective application of social media and organizational processes.
Author Archives: Sanford
Millennial Makeover: Is there a Lincoln or FDR in the 2008 race?
This evening, as I finished my work at Cooper, I took a walk over to the Great Hall to
listen to Dr. Fred Shapiro introduce Morley Winograd and Michael Hais discuss their
new book, “Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics”
with a talk asking the question, “Is there a Lincoln or FDR in the 2008 Presidential Race?”
Interestingly, the talk seems to have been a combination of the premise of the book
creation, as well as an attempt to answer the question posed at the start of the talk.
[Suffice it to say, I think they would say Obama is the next Lincoln/FDR – more on
this later] But what was most interesting to me was the discussion of the impact of
technology and generational demographics and their impact on American history – which goes to
the heart of two of my posts ([1],
[2]),
“Would social networks impact the 2008 election?”. At the time, I answered in the negative.
After this book, I might have a different point of view… Continue reading
Posted in Campaign 2008, eCampaigning, Political Tech
Tagged impact of technology, Millennial generational impact, Millennial Makeover, social networks, social networks in politics, speed of memes
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Spitzer: Opinion on personal and NY impact
We each have a choice in how we live our lives – along the ranges of honor and integrity to duplicity and scandal. No one is perfect in the world, and as the technology continues to erode our privacy and what we expect will never arise, we will have to evaluate our measure of politicians in the future. Continue reading
Posted in Personal Thoughts
Tagged Eliot Spitzer, ethics in politics, honor and integrity
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Rolling Stone: Inside Obama’s People-Powered Revolution
What pleased me in reading this article from Rolling Stone was the fact that the campaign married online engagement with offline activities and vice versa. Never a campaign event went off without capturing people’s email addresses, zip codes and names as they came to the event. Never a chance was forgotten to drive engagement both online and off – using the MyBO site to drive involvement and community. Continue reading
Posted in Campaign 2008, eCampaigning
Tagged eCampaigning, machinery of hope, social networks, social networks in politics
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Massa v. Dickert: Libel Case Settled
The following are excerpts of a joint statement that Eric Massa and I collaborated on drafting which follows the libel complaint described in an earlier post.
Eric Massa has since learned that the allegations regarding Sanford Dickert were unfounded. Eric Massa regrets and acknowledges the unrealized benefit to Democratic political campaigns as a result of Sanford Dickert’s absence from organized political activity during the pendency of this litigation.
To the extent that misunderstandings in the heat of the campaign were wrongfully interpreted or misunderstood by anyone, Eric Massa offers his regrets to Sanford Dickert and is prepared to use his good name to remediate the foregoing and any harm caused to Sanford Dickert’s good reputation. Continue reading
Posted in Campaign 2006, Massa Campaign
Tagged Eric Massa, Eric Massa lawsuit, Eric Massa libel, Massa for Congress, Massa v. Dickert, NY-29th
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Dear Chelsea, I am sorry it has been a while…
I want a President who speaks—honestly—to what is best in us as citizens. We can be a stupid bunch, but we are not fools. Dishonest, sophist language—moral language used cynically—will lead us to use moral language cynically. Moral language used honestly, if it reaches just 5% of the population—moral demands on us to organize, empathize, and consider the public good, not just our own good, when making political decisions. Over time, character will out—ours and a candidate’s, and we need someone whose character is not up for grabs. Continue reading
Posted in Campaign 2008, Political Thoughts
Tagged Campaign 2008, Clinton 2008, Hillary Clinton, Obama for President, Obama08, Presidential Race 2008
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