The Obaminator

Looks like Obama may pass up Clinton in Iowa (if that hasn't already happened). I subscribed to his e-mail newsletter which is pretty good. If you can get past the sales pitches, it's really clever how they've utilized a system that has worked elsewhere to both raise money and understand the constituency.

When I found out that more people vote for American Idol than for the presidency, I was not surprised. When I found out that American Idol got all those people to pay $1.00 (sometimes over and over again) to vote on who the next person they would support via record/concert/merchandise sales would be, I was astounded. This is multi-faceted 21st century marketing, for sure!

For this campaign, checking out which hot-button issues garner the most response and/or money from constituents is really smart. Not just healthcare, Iraq, education or the other standby issues, but campaign finance, negative campaigning, and other topics. It's bolstering the war chest and learning what the constituency reacts to at the same time which allows for changes in strategy as the campaign evolves. It's fluid and it's a superb use of the media and technology available at this point in time.

(I wish the Chicago Bears could do this!)

((And I didn't even mention the Oprah endorsement yet!!))