Remember the halcyon days of 2007, when presidential campaigns competed for the honor of Most Creative Campaign Kick-Off Announcement? Hillary did her business on YouTube, while Barack promoted his video announcement via email, and several of the other candidates chose late-night talk/comedy shows to heighten their common touch. Special bonus round: don’t forget the legendary Joe-Biden-for-veep text message.
This time around, all of these choices are old hat, and it’s hard to imagine a venue that would attract anyone’s attention in and of itself. “Glee?” “Dancing with the Stars?” (Hey, if DeLay could shake his hips pre-conviction, why not Huckabee?). Though perhaps the standards at “American Idol” might hit a little close to home….
In any case, The Hill’s Shane D’Aprile took a good look at the question today, and e.politics got a few choice quotes in toward the end of the piece. My guess? The substance and the candidate will matter much more than the chosen channel, and I bet we’ll see campaigns unveiled via multi-outlet blasts designed to attract every shred of attention possible. Good luck, kids! Have fun storming the castle.
– cpd