2004 Presidential Election
Frank Rich writes about the effect of Internet technologies on next year's election in today's New York Times [December 21, 2003, "Napster Runs for President in '04"]. Quoting Rich, "Yes, Dr. Dean's followers are angry about his signature issue, the war. Dr. Dean is marginalized in other ways as well: a heretofore obscure governor from a tiny state best known for its left-wing ice cream and gay civil unions, a flip-flopper on some pivotal issues and something of a hothead. This litany of flaws has been repeated at every juncture of the campaign this far, just as it is now. And yet the guy keeps coming back, surprising those in Washington and his own party who misunderstand the phenomenon and dismiss him. The elusive piece of this phenomenon is cultural: the Internet. Rather than compare Dr. Dean to McGovern or Goldwater, it may make more sense to recall Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy ... To say that the competing campaigns don't get it is an understatement. A tough new anti-Dean attack ad has been put up on the campaign's own site, where it's a magnet for hundreds of thousands of dollars in new contributions." Thanks to Dave Winer for the link.
Dave Cullen scooped the 'Ol Coyote on this story.
Continuing on the theme of how the Dean campaign is shaking up the presidential election, Will Parker is pointing to Scientists for Dean. Will does not mince words, "I find it incredibly heartening to think that the Dean administration will bring real scientists back into the service of our country. As far as I'm concerned, the current EPA headquarters should be listed as a SuperFund cleanup site."
Ed Cone chimes in on the Internet and the presidential campaign. Says Cone, "But 'in step and on message' is the language of traditional campaigns, and I don't think that's what makes this campaign tick. Dean volunteers have been on-task for months, writing letters and performing other jobs directed from campaign HQ, without giving up local initiative and creativity."
Halley Suitt is dicussing a new type of political organization a political community of interest.
My question is, "Will a political community of interest get out the vote more effectively (win elections) than a political organization?" The Dean Campaign is aiming to build a community of interest.
Diane Carman uses the latest Lord of the Rings film to explain what is happening in the Iowa caucuses in her column in today's Denver Post [December 21, 2003, "'Rings' ends, and a darker story begins"]. Good fun. Carman writes, "And I don't know if it was the coffee or the diet cola or what, but I finally got into the whole J.R.R. Tolkien thing. I was amused, enlightened, moved. In fact, I was transported to another fantasy world altogether ... Iowa."
6:38:39 AM 
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