Barack Obama and the Public Interest.
Imagine my gaiety when I read this headline on Google News: “Both Parties Now Ignoring McCain.”
And, really, it’s true. A trip to the DNC website shows Barack Obama on the front page, surrounded by supporters wielding CHANGE signs and smiling faces. Of course, this is what one would expect when there is a presumptive Party nominee.
What isn’t so expected is the fact that Barack Obama also dominates another major political website: that of the RNC.
Of course, this is all part of the Republican strategy (if it can be called that) of painting Obama as nothing more than a celebrity. While polls have suggested a bit of public chagrin with the amount of media coverage Obama has been receiving, this Republican strategy is, as one would expect, entirely unfounded. Interestingly enough, though, the Republican party seems to be giving more coverage to Obama than anyone else.
To take a closer look at partisan coverage, I decided to count the number of occurrences of each candidate’s name on each party’s website.
DNC
Make no mistake: there is no shortage of Obama coverage or information on the DNC website. His name is mentioned on the homepage twice, and he has one photo. McCain’s name, interestingly, is mentioned twice as well.
RNC
The RNC website features 2 photos of Barack, and his name is mentioned 10 (yes, 10) times on the homepage. McCain’s name? No, it’s not there. Not once, and no photo, either.
Summary
Let’s think about what this really means. The DNC is showing support for Obama, and showing distaste for McCain. However, it’s main focus remains on issues, which are listed alphabetically on the site. There’s plenty of good food for thought, and most of it is not focused on a single candidate, but rather a single party ideal, which the public is assured will be realized by Barack Obama.
On the Republican side, however… there really isn’t any substance whatsoever. The ENTIRE site is devoted to trying to bring down Barack Obama, not to issues. It’s as if the RNC has said “well, we certainly can’t win with ideas or John McCain… let’s just run smear.” Quite frankly, if that’s all they’ve got, Barack just won the election.
So, the next time you hear a Republican complaining about Obama’s media coverage, just steer them to the DNC website for some information on John McCain, since they certainly won’t find any with the RNC.
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Lol. Hi! We’re Republicans! We won’t try to appeal voters to our ideals, (because they probably won’t like them anyway, seeing as how they have ruined our economy, our unity, our standing in the world, and our safety over the last eight years) we’re just going to try to make you hate that other fella. Have a nice day!
lol yes, it’s pathetic. I can’t believe that their entire strategy is to sway public opinion against Barack Obama instead of trying to sway it toward John McCain. i suppose they already gave up on the latter.
I do have to say, though, that the official Obama campaign probably has less of a need to run smear simply because they utilized the internet in a way that a candidate has never done before. Now there’s tons of die-hard, NPR listening, Audacity of Hope reading, bleeding heart liberals like you and me out there blogging about how the first time McCain breaks his hip we’ll be paying for him to be put back together. And since he’s a Reagan Republican, I’m sure the screws they put in him will cost at least six grand a piece.