Comments on: Obama/McCain Race Offers Insight Into Changing Communications World

By: Voices without Votes » Global: Obama’s record-breaking fund raising effort

Voices without Votes » Global: Obama’s record-breaking fund raising effort — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:34:15 +0000

[...] Piaras Kelly from Ireland writes in his blog, PKellyPR, Obama’s fund raising efforts are incredible, but the Democrat still encounters a problem. “In [...]

By: Roq

Roq — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:10:02 +0000

“While Obama has built this fantastic communications platform on change, he hasn’t set out any specifics as to what it actually means.”

I’m really tired of this meme. Please stop regurgitating it. I’m happy to offer that it may have been true at one point, but in response, the Obama campaign has long since spelled it all out in *excruciating* detail on their website, in countless interviews, essays and press releases. Way more than any presidential candidate in modern history, in fact. Generally, it’s considered foolish to get too specific, because circumstances may change by the time a candidate is elected, and that sets one up for being forced to go back on campaign promises. But the relentlessness of this meme, along with the newness/unfamiliarity (in some cases, prejudice and mistrust) has forced Obama’s hand. To say he hasn’t defined change or delivered detail and substance is simply not true.

If you’re looking for a broader, macro take on the policy specifics of ‘change’ as Obama defines it - a creed, if you will - I suggest reading the Audacity of Hope.

Thank you.

By: Piaras

Piaras — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:22:57 +0000

Slap on the wrist for me for not being overly familiar with the Obama campaign. Agree with you on the McCain campaign, lots of spin and subterfuge. Will be interesting to see how Troopergate, etc plays out.

In terms of the difference between the two campaigns, fingers crossed Obama gets the vote in November. Even if he doesn’t the fact that he raised such a record amount last month, underlines the strength of the bottom up comms approach.

By: Richard Delevan

Richard Delevan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:54:54 +0000

Obviously McCain’s done such a good job on news cycle manipulation under Tomasky’s theory that he’s actually got you convinced on the “no substance” meme. Which is frustrating for Obama supporters because the converse is true. McCain and Palin have offered no policy prescriptions to deal with the financial crisis, want to do nothing about healthcare, embraces a suicidal status quo energy strategy and ideas on foreign policy far to the right of the Bush Administration.

McCain’s speech at the RNC was biographical, Obama’s was laden with substance. Obama’s had a 20,000 word policy manifesto up on the website FOR A YEAR. McCain has switched any innovative positions to a default setting of continuing Bush policy.

Yet even a smart guy like yourself is fooled. In the sense that the McCain campaign has resurrected what Mark Halperin labelled ‘the freak show’ a couple of years back, he has indeed ‘won’. There just won’t be much of a political culture left to govern.

The irony will be, if McCain has won this many news cycles using blatant lies, and the traditional media no longer plays the role of arbiter (due to a collapse of confidence and influence) about political discourse, whether the backlash that has been swirling on op-ed pages, and spilled over to The View and Saturday Night Live, has any environment in which to get traction.