-
sponsorship
You can find it here. Then watch what Ron Paul fans think of Ron Paul’s new ad.
The spot, one of two that will air in New Hampshire over the coming weeks, looks like something out of a different era. Soft tones, New Age music, stilted dialogue—it’s like a political infomercial. They used volunteers instead of actors, and it shows. “He wants us to get out of Iraq, pronto,” says one supporter. “I agree with him most of the time, I really do,” says another. The footage looks like it was shot on Super 8 video, with a soundtrack lifted from the local cable-access station. Still, the two spots cost the campaign roughly $30,000 to make, according to spokesman Jesse Benton. That includes travel to the Granite State for the camera crew, as well as payment for the producer, Jay Bryant.
Benton said the campaign initially got some negative reactions, but mostly from hard-core fans who expected more policy details. “These ads speak to people who haven’t turned to Ron Paul yet,” he said. “From those kinds of crowds, we’ve been getting pretty positive reviews.” He also said the ad works better on TV than on YouTube, where people are usually expecting something “more dynamic.”
The spots are part of Paul’s first major commercial blitz. Depending on their success, the campaign could roll out as many as four more ads. In total, Paul is spending $1.1 million on Granite State airtime through the primaries.
-
sponsorship
This is the seventh entry in "The Fringe," a periodic look at the lesser-known candidates for president. Read the archives here.
Don't tell anybody, but John Blyth wants to become president so he can put himself out of business. Blyth, an independent candidate from Illinois, wants to make government-run health care mandatory for everybody in the country. He also owns a small insurance company. So, no privatized insurance, no business for him.
As noble as that may be, when I asked Blyth for more details about his health plan he said he couldn't tell me anything further because he thinks the mainstream candidates have been spying on his Web site and swiping his policy initiatives, Bill Belichick style.
But a look at his site makes those claims hard to believe. On many issues, Blyth hasn't made up his mind yet. On his "agenda" page, he writes in response to immigration, "When will congress act?" For gun control, he says, "In this country, what?" Gay marriage: "Non Issue, get busy congress." [sic] I didn't hear anything that sounded like that on Tuesday night.
Blyth says he deliberately kept his policy positions short on his Web site, so it would be a quick read. Perhaps, but it also makes him look rusty and unprepared. During our conversation, he said he wanted to send our troops to Africa to help fight genocide but couldn't pinpoint Sudan: "Where's all the genocide at down there? I forget the country."
Throughout the conversation, Blyth had few specifics whenever I asked for more information. Over and over again, he claimed he would let Congress decide policy—a far cry from the Bush administration—as long as they started acting more like federalists. "If you leave it up to the 50 states, you've got 50 different ways and you've got hodgepodge," he told me. To be fair, he does have some specifics. He knows he wants to begin a 15-month withdrawal from Iraq immediately, stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, and veto any pork-barrel spending.
Blyth has time to refine these policy positions. Because he's running as an independent, voters won't see him on the ballot until November of 2008. That leaves ample time to look up Sudan on a map.
-
sponsorship
The Obama campaign has announced that harmless and exceedingly heterosexual Grammy
winner John Legend will
play at a rally on Nov. 10 before the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines, Iowa.
Unlike another artist
we shall not name, Legend is about as controversial as shredded wheat. The only
thing to fight over now is whether Legend’s voice sounds more like honey or velvet.
-
sponsorship
In a campaign full of cheesy new Internet memes—Facebook groups, “candid” campaign videos—the most annoying has to be the faux off-the-cuff e-mail chain. Exhibit A, just sent out today:
From: Chris Dodd
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 12:29 PM
To: Christopher Beam
Subject: Fw: Re: Update?
Dear Friend—
I only have a few moments on my way back up to New Hampshire.
I asked my Campaign Manager for an update on what we accomplished online during the month of October, and I was so pleased with her response I wanted to make sure you saw the email chain.
[etc., etc.]
Scroll down and you find what you’re supposed to believe is an organic e-mail exchange between Sheryl Cohen, Dodd’s campaign manager, and Tim Tagaris, his Internet communications director. It’s meant to be a glimpse behind the scenes, a secret discussion Dodd decided to let us in on. Here’s the secret: The senator raised a lot of money in October, but he just needs a teensy bit more.
It’s not a bad way to reach supporters. It’s also utterly artless. For starters, it totally abuses the “Fw: Re:” prefix, usually reserved for funny e-mail threads your friends send you. The moment I clicked on it, I knew I’d been had. Plus, who would ever write this sentence in a personal e-mail: “We're gonna do everything we can to keep growing—something that is made easy as [Dodd] continues to lead on the issues important in this race.” Or maybe that's the way campaign people actually talk.
Dodd isn’t the first offender, or the worst. Back in September, Barack Obama sent out a mass e-mail with the subject, “Hey,” no doubt sending a million hearts aflutter. Of course, it was just another solicitation. Michelle Obama followed up with a “Re: Hey.” I was hoping she’d accidentally hit “reply all” on some missive meant only for Barack. Wrong again.
These kind of faux-personal notes will probably become standard for online fundraising. But what happens when it expands to texting—which is already happening—and IMs? Someday they'll pare their solicitation down to a single set of characters: "$?"
-
sponsorship
John Edwards is launching a new ad in Iowa today called “Heroes.” (No, we can’t embed video at the moment; yes, we’re working on it.) “If you’re looking for heroes, don’t look to me,” he says over a soundtrack that sounds a lot like Coldplay. “Don’t look to Elizabeth. … We have the American people behind us. Look to them.”
He’s using the ad to kick off “American Heroes Week,” a tribute to the working men and women of America. Seems like a good way to use his momentum coming out of Tuesday’s debate. Plus, after his New Hampshire SEIU endorsement, it could confirm him for good as the candidate of the working class.
But am I the only one who can’t hear that tour name without thinking about Bud Light’s “Real American Heroes” ads? Edwards could certainly use the votes of Mr. Jelly Donut Filler, Mr. Major League Infield Raker, Mr. Fake Tattoo Inventor, Mr. Putt-Putt Golf Course Designer, and Mr. Wrecking Ball Operator. He might even pander to Mr. Inspirational Poster Writer (although that guy’s probably already on staff). Of course, let’s not forget the realest of American heroes, the one who toils away for countless years despite the slimmest odds: Mr. Third-Place Candidate Man.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?