So, a friend of mine sent me this link to the video below. And, if it does not concern you – then you are not focused on the campaign. But then again, it is well-worth the watch if you want to learn about the real McCain:
And while I respect Senator McCain’s military service, just because he was in the Navy does not give him the right to make one statement and then change it to another. Sorry, just not the Navy way.
Or is it?
Hey there – was reading my mail and found a couple of requests for two positions the Obama Campaign is looking to fill. More than likely, you are already aware – but if you are not, check these out. Truthfully, they are perfect for making a difference this election – the campaign can use any and all help they can receive.
Role: Deputy CTO/Chief Data Architect
Role: Software Developers for Web Applications
The Obama campaign earned a reputation for smart use of online technology during the primary, but needs to go to the next level in the general election. To make this happen, we need some smart people to join our team.
The Obama Campaign is looking for creative, smart people who are willing to work long hours to be part of an effort that will not just win an election, but change the way campaigns are run. If you find someone who doesn’t have the requisite years of experience, but believes they can fill the spot, please encourage them to apply anyway.
Send an email to jg@rock-creek-ventures.com and please reference Political Gastronomica.
I would not suggest that money will be good, but the experience is incredible.
Reading today’s NYTimes article on the Repub loss in Mississippi this week seems to have Repubs worried that they will not win and the Democrats are poised to grow their lead in the House and Senate. But something seems amiss here. All we have to do is take our crystal ball (Oh great google search, can you help us?) and look at what was happening just two years ago.
Two years ago at this time, the Repubs were at the top of their game. The Economist back in 2006 were discussing the Republican hegemony, the discussion of a Democratic lead in the House was on the order of 2 seats, and the Senate was comfortably in Republican hands. Then, the departure of one of the most powerful Repubs was announced in April (Tom Delay) and then in July, a little-known Florida Congressman named Mark Foley appeared on the scene. With these two issues, combined by the Repub’s Dennis Hastert looking like an inept keeper of the House, it was little wonder that the Democrats were suddenly seen as the alternative to the poorly performing Repubs.
A short four months later and the world was talking about a Democrat majority in the House of 15 to 30 seats and a potential overturning of the Senate. From what seemed to be a certainty of stability for the Repubs became the Blue Wave that shaped 2006.
So, you think we can win now?
Well, with the Democrats winding up the long march to the nomination and McCain doing a couple of definite different dances on the stereotype Repub issues (did you catch him in Oregon as he stumps this week?) And, with a majority that was not veto proof, the mantle of the “do-nothing” Repub Congress might get handed to the Democrats through no fault of their own. And the question that I wonder about is…
What new story will come from Congress this year?
See, I am not worried about Obama and his past, since he is operating on change, his history and the Dems history is very different and can not be attributed to each other (as the Repubs discovered in the Mississippi election). But, that does not mean the Repubs will not find ways of using the Democratic Congress’s own stories against them – including the lack of performance on the issues of the day that mattered to the people that got them elected.
I wonder what will happen next.
Tags: Campaign 2008, Congressional Races, Democratic Chances
This afternoon, as I was working on an Executive Summary, my business partner said something about Obama touting a major endorsement tonight at 7pm. A few minutes later, he told me it was John Edwards making the endorsement. I asked him how he knew, and he said that everyone was Twittering about it.
A few minutes later, he showed me on PoliticalBase the continually updating content including the flight path information on John Edward’s private plane heading to Michigan for the announcement. Not only did this blow my mind when I saw it, but the fact that a community of people – working from scant information – was able to piece together the story faster than the MSM was another step in the direction of distributed management and creation of content. The power of freely accessible data, speed of information across these new social networks and connection technology combined with the tools that are existing – we are still seeing revolutionary things happening in the political and social space.
Ron Paul and the incredible Libertarian energies
It is funny, because just last night, I was speaking to someone about the Ron Paul campaign and how it was able to use data that it gave access to the world freely to create new tools that would engage the electorate and his supporters. From freely offering the data from who was making online donations and how much to video engagement strategies that would make most Beltway campaigns cringe, the use of mashups and freely accessible data into incarnations that new software applications and platforms enable.
For example, imaging if Obama was offering a feed of donations to their campaign as an RSS feed and some person took that data, stripped out nothing but the dollars donated and plotted the information on a graphing solution like Trendrr. Now, imagine people are able to generate their own data and make their own assessments with the information, free from the opinions of the pundits and the “opinionmakers”. Whew!
Tags: Political Mashup
I was sitting in the Qantas/American Airlines Lounge in Honolulu listening to the continual drone of CNN and the discussion of the diminishing lead in superdelegates she has (as of this post, she is down to a +2 lead). I watched Senator Obama as he stumped in Oregon, I watched Senator Clinton as she painted the end of the race and how the party will “come together and put a Democrat in the White House”.
All the pundits put their own spin on the race, and I have my own. I have been a supporter of whomever I think can bring about positive change in America’s Future, and my own naval gazing brought about my decision of Senator Obama from a number of paths. But, has the continuing primary battles negatively impacted the potential for the Democrats to take back the White House? I think not, and here is why:
Is this a good thing?
I think so – tho I worry now about two factors:
This is a question I have been asking myself for a while – and continue to puzzle. There is a stratification of supporters and a need for connection and community. If Obama is able to play his opportunities right with the American people, then we have a winner. More to follow in the coming days.
Tags: Barack Obama, Campaign 2008, Hillary Clinton, Primary Race 2008
