Jan 18 2008
About the Site
The year 2008 has arrived! Translation: it is a leap year. Slightly more important than that is the upcoming November election in which eligible voters will select the 44th President of the United States. No doubt people are being bombarded by election coverage in every media outlet. Yet, the focus is only on a few candidates.
Turn on the TV or read a newspaper and you would think there are only six people running for president. This is not surprising since the biggest stories usually involve the “front-runners” (read: political machines that have deep wallets for high-profile campaigning). The public has been saturated with stories about Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama and Rudolph Giuliani. What about everyone else?
More than 100 people announced presidential candidacy, and while many have withdrawn their quests to contend, many more will be on the primary ballots this winter. This blog intends to draw attention to those ”no-name” candidates like Ron Paul, whose popularity on the Internet is not translating in the polls, or that other black guy, Alan Keyes, running for president under the GOP.
I am not a political pundit. However, I can help provide an entertaining view of the presidential race that focuses on the lesser-knowns who could be stealing critical votes away from the political powerhouses while they preen for the press.
Now when young adults ages 18-30 step into the voting booths they will not be caught off gaurd when the list of choices for the next Commander-in-Chief is longer than the selective six covered by mainstream media.
Hey Felicia – I just finished reading your blog for our class assignment, here are my comments..
Good post –
I really liked your post on how Ron Paul has been ignored by the mass media. I find this issue fascinating that they can essentially just ignore him, even when he is clearly capturing more of the vote. Why not report just the straight facts and say who got what percent? Why glaze over him just because he isn’t a “serious” candidate? The fact that this issue fired me up so much tells me that this is a great post! This is something I hadn’t heard about and I think it could spark very a very interesting debate about what the news should be reporting and how. It also falls in perfect line with the overall message of your blog, which is that so many candidates are pushed out of the spotlight.
I also really liked the Kucinich/Simpsons video – too funny! You have done a good job of scouring You Tube for good videos.
Posts to improve –
I don’t really have one specific post that could be improved. But on occasion there are some posts that could be a little shorter and punchier. For example “Law and Order: Presidential Election Unit,” “Where in the world is Mike Gravel,” and “Ron Paul cashes in online by placing in Nevada caucuses.” I think in some cases it takes quite awhile to get to the news or the ‘why I should care line’ so I would just suggest getting there a little faster so you don’t lose readers in the process.
Consistent theme/mission –
So, I am sad to say it took me awhile to figure your blog out. I kept asking myself why you only writing about Ron Paul and Mike Gravel – then I read your about statement. Interesting idea. I like that you want to add more dialogue into the election coverage and play up some of the underdogs. I do wonder what will happen to your blog when the final unknown drops out of the race, but I suppose there will be a few candidates who hang on until the bitter end. I would actually like to hear even more about other, even more known, candidates. You mention Alan Keyes in your about statement, but haven’t written about him. I think it might be cool if you pull one really obscure candidate a week and write about their ideas. Just a thought..
Writing techniques/scannable –
Overall I think your writing techniques are strong. Your posts use a lot of links which help divide up the text. Most of your photos are good, but some (example: Bloomberg) came out very blurry. Make sure your photos always come through clearly, so they can do their part to help illustrate the story. Another suggestion is to make your posts a little shorter – or at least some of them. I think it is ok to have some long posts, but maybe mix them in with some posts that are only 100-200 words for variation, otherwise it can feel a little daunting to read each post until the end.
Links –
Good use of links! I really like how you not only link to news articles and relevant organizations, but also other bloggers. I think this is so important for a blog to not only showcase their opinions, but to show what other people have to say. Well done!
Tone/writing style –
I like your writing style – it is very fresh, flippant, and sharp. Your posts are punchy without being biased. You call attention to crazy people and statements without having to outright say these people are wackos. I love your short punch lines like, “Actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson dropped out of the Republican presidential contest Tuesday afternoon. Duh.” And “Who is ready for another three-ring circus and thinks Nader should enter the race? I thought so. I’ll bring the popcorn.” Try to work something to this effect into every post because it really makes your points (and unique voice) hit home. These statements are the kind that would keep me coming back to your blog to hear what you have to say. It sets you apart from the masses of political bloggers.