History is Happening Now

I have written previously about the Obama campaign’s use of advanced marketing techniques.  Obama has the most sophisticated voter database that has ever been used in an American presidential contest.  He promises to unite us by tailoring demographically-specific messages to a thousand thousand market segments.  All the tools of modern marketing are at his disposal.

Now, the value of his database will be put to a test.  Politico reports that Obama has released two local advertisements attacking McCain, tailored specifically to Ohio and Nevada.  I assume this is just the beginning of a local media barrage by the Obama campaign, a good sign.

The election may turn on which is a better media strategy:  broad national attacks (by McCain), which seem to have successfully captured headline space on CNN and other national outlets, or a million little customized attacks in swing states (by Obama), which may convince voters that Obama is speaking directly to their local concerns.

Despite his recently declining poll numbers with his base, my bet is still on Obama to win it.  My sense is that the country is sick of Republican rule and I think the local media focus is extremely smart.

Then again, if McCain can successfully paint Obama as the antichrist–no, really!–maybe he can draw the Evangelicals out to vote in sufficient numbers of give him a better chance at closing the deal.  If Obama loses the election because a significant percentage of the American people believe him to be the antichrist, I think I would move to some more rational and enlightened country–like North Korea.

     It appears that a war has begun between Russia and Georgia. I just found out about it today, and I’m having a hard time putting it into a meaningful context. Questions arise: Why are they fighting? Is the outcome of the war relevant to U.S. security interests? What should the United States do? 

     It would be a mistake for someone as ignorant as I am about this situation to jump to conclusions about how America should respond to what is going on. This is a time when I — and many other United States citizens — look to our political leaders and foreign policy experts for wisdom and guidance. 

     That said, I would encourage our readers to check out the Wall Street Journal editorial on the war. Then, I would also like readers to check out this Politico article about the different responses of Barack Obama and John McCain to news of the conflict. 

     Is it possible that McCain is taking an aggressive, black-and-white position on this complicated situation in order to make himself seem like a more decisive leader, a leader with “moral clarity”? I don’t know the answer to that question — but I tend to think McCain is putting his own political ambitions ahead of our national security. It’s important to note that McCain is taking an even more aggressive position that President Bush.