In case you missed it, the Obama campaign has created a free iPhone app that allows users to contact other supporters, find out about local campaign events, compare your volunteering activities with others, etc. I think it's a pretty impressive use of modern technology in a campaign.
Voter persuasion efforts, as near as I can tell, still primarily rely upon older technologies, mainly radio and television. But the voter turnout stuff in this election is getting pretty innovative.
I largely subscribe to Josh Marshall's view on the Palin-Biden debate. Palin exceeded expectations, by which I mean she managed not to set her podium on fire or fart throughout the entire event. She came off reasonably articulate and capable. She didn't embarrass her campaign. I found the winking a bit annoying, but maybe that's just me.
That said, my impression was that Biden simply came off better. He was sharply critical of McCain and demonstrated a solid knowledge of both economic issues and foreign affairs. He defended Obama well. He made no serious gaffes (other than referring to Bosnians as Bosniacs). His statements were far more substantive than Palin's and yet still, for the most part, managed to have an emotional punch.
Anyway, I'm giving it to Biden. But Palin wasn't bad.
Today I was showing my students this ad, a pretty nasty attack Dukakis ran against Dan Quayle back in '88. The basic idea is that presidents die, Quayle's a bonehead, and Bush made a huge mistake in naming him his number two.
I asked my students if they though Obama could run a similar sort of ad against Palin today. Most seemed to feel there'd be a backlash. It would be seen as vicious, maybe sexist.
And then I was shocked to find that an interest group has just put out such an add. The California Nurses Association is running an ad showing McCain flatlining (these are nurses, mind you) while we're introduced to extremist stances by Palin.
Check out this interview Palin did with C-SPAN back in February:
While I wouldn't go so far as to call her responses eloquent, they were certainly competent. You get the impression that she knows what she's talking about. She doesn't stumble over words or phrases. She makes her point succinctly and reasonably clearly. See also here and here.
Now, it's possible that she has the same weird affliction that George W. Bush has, where he was a reasonably skilled public speaker as governor but mangles sentences on the national stage. But it's also possible that she's been running the most intricate and brilliant game of expectations-lowering that we've ever seen.
Either way, the debate is likely to be a disappointment for Democrats. The debate format is pretty rigid -- they'll be answering Gwen Ifill's questions directly, and chances are they have a pretty good idea what she'll be asking. There won't be much interaction between the candidates. And Palin is likely to be pretty well rehearsed.
In case you missed it, the Obama campaign has created a free iPhone app that allows users to contact other supporters, find out about local campaign events, compare your volunteering activities with others, etc. I think it's a pretty impressive use of modern technology in a campaign.
