American Politics

Archive for the 'american politics' Category

Jindal’s Victory & Landrieu’s Uphill Battle

Published

on October 26, 2007

in democrats, louisiana politics, republicans and us senate

. 0 Comments

The Economist reports on Louisiana’s recent gubernatorial election and is, as ever, scrupulously fair:

Mr Jindal is something of a paradox. He is the first non-white governor since Reconstruction; he is a Rhodes scholar; he is the nation’s youngest governor. In other words, he’s a breath of fresh air, a sign of progress who promises to eradicate corruption in what many say is America’s worst-governed state. On the other hand, he is a religious conservative who was as reliable a rubber-stamp as George Bush had in Congress, refusing to make a fuss even when Republicans there were blaming New Orleans for Katrina. Not all of the air is fresh.

If Bobby Jindal delivers on his promises to reform government ethics in Louisiana I will be the first to congratulate him. It is sorely needed. Sadly, his record in Congress does not fill me with optimism.

More interestingly, The Economist notes that only 80,000 New Orleanians voted last Saturday. Why is that number significant? In 2002, Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D) victory margin in New Orleans was 80,000. The total number of voters decreased 40%. It is safe to assume that the vast majority of that 40% were African-American, Democratic voters and likely supporters of Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Despite more than $3.4m cash on hand and no confirmed opponent, it is now clearer than ever that Sen. Mary Landrieu faces an uphill battle in her bid to be re-elected in 2008.

Rudy discovers Google Maps

Published

on October 26, 2007

in 2008 us presidential election, american politics, politics+technology and republicans

. 0 Comments

After a sluggish start, Rudy Giuliani’s campaign continues to make strides online. They have now added an interactive Google map to the ‘Why Rudy’ section of the former New York mayor’s website.

The map shows the location of Rudy’s supporters across the US, including recent official endorsements from Texas Governor, Rick Perry, and former Wisconsin Governor, Tommy Thompson. Supporters can fill in a form to add their names, comments, photos and YouTube videos, explaining why they support Rudy. So far, there does not appear to be one genuine supporter’s video (i.e. one not filmed and uploaded by Rudy’s campaign team)

Unsurprisingly, the majority of Rudy’s supporters are concentrated in the wider North East region and California and Florida. As this tool becomes more widely used, it will be interesting to see where concentrations of Rudy supporters build up.

The Adfero Group produced a similar tool for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s virtual march on Washington earlier this year. Given that the Adfero Group have already done some work for Rudy’s campaign, I think it’s safe to assume they adapted and built on the same tool for Rudy’s benefit.

Although I welcome this innovation and acknowledge that it does go some way to building a sense of community amongst Rudy’s supporters, as well as serving a valuable data gathering function, I think it could be even more effective if it was not so isolated. It seems very disconnected from the rest of Rudy’s campaign. It sits on its own, on a single page, without even a link from the homepage.

Why not post the map in the sidebar of Rudy’s blog to show the mayor’s ever growing support or allow supporters to embed the map on their own websites? Rudy’s campaign was one of the first to produce widgets for supporter’s websites. Why not produce another to make it easy for supporters to share their reasons for supporting Rudy?

Isolating the map on a single page massively reduces the opportunities for supporter interaction and decreases its effectiveness as a campaign tool significantly. Come on Rudy, just one more step…

McCain Does Humor (oh, and also raises some cash)

Published

on October 26, 2007

in 2008 us presidential election, american politics, politics+technology and republicans

. 0 Comments

John McCain’s campaign has just released a new TV ad capitalizing on McCain’s nimble attack on Hillary Clinton at the recent Fox News Republican Presidential debate in Florida, which also enabled him to highlight his experiences as a POW in Vietnam.

Bashing Hillary Clinton is always a winner with the Republican base and the contrast with McCain’s record in Vietnam is stark. Great job by John McCain and also by his staff for putting this into a TV ad and email fundraising campaign so quickly (the email went out today). The message is perfect web video fodder and I’m sure it will pull in lots of money.

UPDATE: Fox News is apparently demanding McCain pull all Fox News video from his website. By contrast, Rudy Giuliani’s website is blanketed with Fox News video, but he is yet to receive a similar cease and desist letter.

Real Life Bobblehead

Published

on September 18, 2007

in 2008 us presidential election, american politics and republicans

. 0 Comments

I know I’m late to the party on this one, but I couldn’t resist highlighting this strange performance by Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson. For an actor he doesn’t half bob his head up and down an awful lot!

Others have commented elsewhere about the extreme length of this video and I’m inclined to agree. I usually insist on watching these things in their entirety, but at over 15 minutes long it was simply impossible. Maybe if I was a diehard FredHead I would have stuck it out?! I’d be interested to hear from anyone who was engaged enough to watch the whole thing and why?

After watching more of Thompson’s videos, I’m struggling to understand why people think he’s so charismatic. I just don’t think it comes across in his videos. If anything he seems awkward and uncomfortable with being thrust into the spotlight.

Dreamforce, I Wish

Published

on September 14, 2007

in 2008 us presidential election, american politics and politics+technology

. 0 Comments

Sadly, I won’t be in San Francisco next week at Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual extravaganza for users, partners, developers, etc. I really wish I was.

Not for want of a decent offer mind you. Kudos to Salesforce who generously offered $100 tickets to non-profits and last week I received this enticing offer: Continue reading ‘Dreamforce, I Wish’

Louisiana Political Consultant Rising to the Top

Published

on September 10, 2007

in 2008 us presidential election, american politics, democrats and louisiana politics

. 0 Comments

Just came across this video of Scott Arceneaux, Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party from 2001 to 2004.

After overseeing Sen. Mary Landrieu’s successful re-election in 2002, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s 2003 victory and Rep. Chris John’s failed 2004 senate bid, Arceneaux left Louisiana and headed north.

In 2006, he managed Doug Duncan’s gubernatorial campaign in Maryland and then Judy Feder’s outside bid for Frank Wolf’s 10th congressional district seat in Virginia.

In this video, part of a series of behind the scenes videos made by Sen. Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign, Arceneaux discusses what his role entails as the campaign’s Political Director and how he got there.