Campaigns & Elections II

In this year's campaign, both candidates are focusing their platforms on change, and in the simplest terms possible, both platforms seem to center on change from the current administration. John McCain's aim is to set himself apart from typical Republicans through his "maverick" title and his choice of maverick Sarah Palin as his running mate. He strives to accentuate the differences between himself and the current president, citing how often he has voted against Bush or stood up to his own party. Barack Obama is running his campaign on change -- not just from a Democrat standpoint, but from a seemingly ideological standpoint as well. His speeches don't declare that the Democratic party will bring about change, but that he will. In this respect, neither candidate seems like an agent for his party; both seem pretty intent on keeping their respective parties out of their campaigns.

In terms of the impact of technological advances on the presidential race, I think that the ability of candidates to separate themselves from their parties becomes much easier. With the ability to create web sites, post videos, reach out to social networking sites, and contact millions of people through a simple listserv, candidates don't need to rely on their parties to spread the word. Candidates are able to promote themselves any way they'd like for very little cost.

After studying both candidate's web sites, I've observed that both adhere very closely to Teachout's recommendations.

1.) Meeting tool
Both web sites offer visitors the opportunity to search for events in their areas. By typing in their zip code, and the max miles they're willing to travel, they're offered pages worth of debate watching parties, phone-bank volunteerism, or even pot-luck dinners. The meeting tools, in both cases, are offered right on the front page of each site.
However, it seems as though Obama's site offers more in terms of meeting venues and making arrangements. Obama's site offers visitors the change to make their own web page to connect with people in their area.

2.) Listserv
Again, both web sites encourage visitors to enter their email addresses to get on their candidate's listserv. However, Obama once again one-ups McCain's site by offering a listserv via text messages as well as email.

3.) Blogs
Yes, both sites also have blogs! Both blogs appear to be updated on a daily basis -- sometimes several times a day. Both seem to have a primary contributer (Matt Lira for John McCain and Amanda Scott for Barack Obama), and both utilize photos, links, and videos in their entries. The only real difference here is that Obama's site features the blog on the home page while McCain's is only accessible via a link.