Tag Archives: President

ELECTION 2012: Is Romney Getting Buried in “A Devastating Opinion Storm” Generated by YouTube Views of New Media?

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Hugh Hewitt, a lawyer, blogger, political pundit and commentator is not convinced by polls showing that President Barack Obama is leading Governor Mitt Romney. In his popular Blog, Hewitt slammed the polls, and then exclaimed:

So with 40 days to go until the decision is in, that’s the playing field: A tied race, with enthusiasm on the GOP side but grim self-interest propping up a disconnected president while the world burns, the domestic economy crumbles, and elite media and select pollsters cheer the emperor they love and on whom they depend for treats.

Interesting. Frightening, but interesting.

LINK: http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/bbda2e0c-ca90-43f2-8473-5458a8af7d69

But, in his best-selling book: BLOG-Understanding the Information Reformation That’s Changing Your Word, AMAZON.COM LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Blog-Understanding-Information-Reformation-Changing/dp/078521187X , in which he writes extensively about new media and the impact of blogging on the coverage of politics by mainstream media, Hewitt expresses a salient and powerful notion: “the impact of a devastating opinion storm generated by a blog swarm,” and how the generation of that opinion storm in new media can push or even trump mainstream political media coverage.

Can the aggregation of YouTube views have the same force as a blog swarm? In other words, are there certain trends in those views which can generate “a devastating opinion storm?”

The recently compilation of the YouTube viewing data of the  videonclips from the Presidential campaigns certainly suggest the possibility.

Charlie Warzel, adweek.com, writes as follows:

The 2012 conventions have been arguably the most important political moment thus far in the campaign and according to a study from the Pew center for excellence in journalism, Democrats enjoyed a hearty advantage in terms of exposure on platforms like YouTube. The results, which tracked total numbers of YouTube views from date of publish until September 24th, illustrate that Clint Eastwood’s empty chair performance well-overshadowed Mitt Romney’s big moment last August, pulling in 3.2 million views to Romney’s 1.05 million.

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[W]hat the numbers do help illustrate, however, is that the Romney camp has had serious difficulties capitalizing on a crucial moment of visibility for the candidate. YouTube may be one element of the vote, but as the views were compiled over a month, it is indicative of the limited exposure that Romney is generating online. In a time where the Republican nominee needs to familiarize as many voters with his ‘brand’ as he can, he seems to be falling short, digitally at least.

SOURCE: LINK: Read More: Click: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/clint-rocks-mitt-democrats-dominate-youtube-convention-wars-144068

 

The Pew Research Center provided the following data:

The higher interest in Obama and the Democrats in social media is also reflected in the viewership of videos since the two conventions. For instance, through September 21, 2012, Obama’s acceptance speech on various YouTube channels has been viewed nearly five times as often as Romney’s (4.9 million to 1.1 million). And contrary to what some observers might speculate, Obama’s speech has also been viewed more than former President Bill Clinton’s address to the nation, though that speech, in various forms, has been viewed on YouTube nearly four times as often as Romney (3.9 million times to Romney’s 1.1 million). The same pattern can be seen in the numbers as they relate to the wives of the candidates. Michelle Obama’s speech has been viewed 3.2 million times, about five times as often as the one delivered by Ann Romney (563,000).

Pew Research Chart

SOURCE: LINK: Read More: Click: http://www.journalism.org/commentary_backgrounder/how_social_and_traditional_media_differ_their_treatment_conventions_and_beyo

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

COULD THIS NEW MEDIA DATA GENERATE “A DEVASTATING OPINION STORM” THAT WILL BURY ROMNEY? 

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ROMNEY: Was Mitt Romney’s “Meet The Press” interview a sign of defeat?

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Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts,...

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, US presidential candidate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One would think that Mitt Romney would take advantage of his “Meet The Press” interview on 09-09-12 to articulate a clear agenda loaded with specifics. That did not happen.

Instead, it appeared that Governor Romney was changing course midstream.

Look for yourself: NBC NEWS-MEET THE PRESS

MTP is the Sunday TV talk show which is a leader in public affairs media. When Presidential candidates appear on the show, people watch and listen. An MTP interview influences the opinions of millions of viewers. It can affect the outcome for the voting in the November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.

Remarkably, Romney stated that Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention ”elevated” the Convention. Is the implication that Clinton’s speech diminished the speechmaking at Republican National Convention?

Likewise, Romney expressed his dissatisfaction with sequestration, the policy initiative which triggers automatic reductions in defense spending beginning January 1st. When host David Gregory reminded Romney that sequestration had broad bi-partisan support, he was adamant when he reiterated his position that the policy was wrong, and that GOP members of Congress should not have supported it.

Romney even when so far as to say that there were parts of health care reform which he liked.

We are only 58 days away from Election 2012.

With these kinds of pronouncements, can Mitt Romney articulate a game changing agenda to assure a GOP victory?

Or, has he virtually conceded that Clinton’s Convention Speech was the agenda setting message for Election 2012, a concession which assures his likely defeat?

ROMNEY: Would an African American female running mate push Mitt Romney’s candidacy over the top?

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Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney ...

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann Romney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

COMMENTARY

Could Mitt Romney win the “race to the top” if he names an African American female to his ticket as vice president?

Jessika Morgan, in “Black Female GOP Possibilities May Exist for Romney Running Mate,” wrote the following:

Women are being considered as possible candidates to run with Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on the November ballot, the GOP candidate’s wife said July 5.

“We’ve been looking at that,” Ann Romney told CBS News in an interview. “There’s a lot of people Mitt is considering right now.”

She declined to say more about the list of possible vice president candidates to be paired with the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, other than to note that, as the former Massachusetts governor’s wife, she has offered advice in the selection process and would “love that option” of a female running mate.

Among the Black Republican women who could be added to a list of women running mate possibilities are former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll.

Rice, the subject of speculation in June, rejected the idea. And while Carroll, a Navy veteran and the first woman elected to statewide office in Florida has been silent, political journalists see Carroll as a possible aid to a Romney candidacy.

SOURCE: AFRO AMERICAN NEWSPAPER LINK: http://www.afro.com/sections/news/afro_briefs/story.htm?storyid=75525

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Could an African American running mate aid Romney’s candidacy?

What do you think?

Your comments are welcomed.

MORGAN FREEMAN: Obama is not the first black president?; well, you were not the first black actor to play president yourself!

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COMMENTARY

Maybe Morgan Freeman was pandering for media attention and Internet clicks with his comment that President Barack Obama is not really America’s first African American or black President. According to Freeman, President Obama is America’s first mixed-race President. SOURCE: YAHOO’S MOVIES LINK: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/morgan-freeman-obama-not-americas-first-black-president-152604131.html

Freeman, of course, who is presumably African American himself, portrayed a president in “Deep Impact” the 1998 film release of Paramount and Dream Works. SOURCE: IMDb LINK: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120647/

The film was very profitable. It grossed $180 Million on a production budget of $75 Million. So everybody including Freeman made some pocket change from his fictitious portrayal of the President.

And, presumably, this is what Freeman and his handlers were seeking by having him take a swipe at President Obama. Afterall, every click counts!

Thankfully, Freeman was not the first African American actor to portray the President. That credit goes to Sammy Davis, Jr. in the 1933 release of  “Rufus Jones for President.” SOURCE: WIKI LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_president_in_popular_culture_(United_States) A number of other actors also preceded Freeman in the role.

So Mr. Freeman, while your sop about President Obama borders on nonsense, at least it made us do some work and dig up some pop culture and history.

75 years after

Cover of "Deep Impact (Special Collector'...

Cover via Amazon

a black president emanated from the mind of a creative film writer, fiction became reality. America did indeed elect its first black president.

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ROMNEY vs. OBAMA 2012: Carter would be “comfortable” with Romney as President? WOW!

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4 U.S. Presidents. Former President Jimmy Cart...

4 U.S. Presidents. Former President Jimmy Carter (right), walks with, from left, George H.W. Bush (far left), George W. Bush (second from left) and Bill Clinton (center) during the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 18, 2004 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WOW!


THIS MORNING, IN AN INTERVIEW ON “MORNING JOE,” MSNBC, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER SAID HE WOULD BE “COMFORTABLE” WITH MITT ROMNEY AS PRESIDENT!!

WHAT!!!

We need to wait to find out whether President Carter misspoke.

OUR TAKE!!!!

Because if he did not, then President Barack Obama could be in real trouble in Election 2012.

AROUND THE WEB

ELECTION 2012: Harvard grad Romney takes a cheap shot at Obama and Harvard-has the GOP gone mad?

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Mitt Romney at one of his presidential campaig...

Mitt Romney at one of his presidential campaign rallies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OPINION

Of all the dumb things a GOP Presidential candidate could say (quote):

Mitt Romney continued his verbal assault on President Obama on Thursday, accusing him of spending “too much time at Harvard” while speaking at a rooftop event in Harrisburg, Penn.

It’s an odd attack coming from a fellow Harvard graduate, especially considering Romney spent more time at the Ivy League institution than Obama did.


Source: HUFFINGTON POST

President Obama spent “too much time at Harvard?”

Mr. Romney, apparently your 4 years at Harvard was not enough time to develop your brain!

How Romney, a Harvard graduate, who holds both a law degree and a M.B.A., from one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world, with over 323,000 living alumni, 62 of whom are billionaires, could make a statement like that, is just plain dumb!!

What an idiot!!!

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OPINION: mr. president, are you listening to America?: it’s bad, really bad out here!

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President Barack Obama, you need to walk down the aisle yourself in the supermarket in cognito, and listen to what people who are hurting under your watch are saying. It’s not about you, the debt crisis, the gridlock in Congress-it’s about the fact that it’s bad out here, fault notwithstanding.

They are saying that they are hurting; that cash is tight; that they are barely making it; and, that if you don’t do something about it; you’re done.

I happened to visit a friend the other day at his luxury condo. He’s got some money, but he’s not making any money. Sooner or later he’ll be in the bread line. He had a lucrative career, made a lot of money, spent a lot of money, saved a lot of money, but nearly lost it all in the recession and cannot get back on his feet. At some point, he might just end it all.

He was depressed. Just a few minutes before I arrived, he watched the repo man hook up and tow away the Rolls Royce of his neighbor who just before the recession was himself a self-made millionaire, but like him recently became a member of Occupy XXX because he was broke. He lost his money, his wife, his lifestyle, his belongings and now his car. It seems likely that he will lose his life unless something remarkable happens, which is not likely either.

So Mr. President, you won’t lose because you’re a bad person, or a bad politician, or for that matter a bad President. You’re gonna lose because it’s bad out here in the real world, and unfortunately for you, little to nothing has been done under your watch to turn things around.

That’s my opinion; what’s yours?

 Around the Web

CAIN: ain’t no more Herman Cain for political media to beat on

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Lead

Herman Cain has suspended his campaign.

By devoting extensive coverage seeking to humiliate Cain and to derail his candidacy, mainstream political media lost its way. It utterly failed  its fundamental role in American presidential politics to stay focused, and to adequately inform the American people about the issues of national concern on the business and affairs of the country, the presidency, and the Presidential candidates in the GOP race for the Republican nomination.

Media (Quote):

After Herman Cain suspended his presidential campaign, other Republican presidential hopefuls praised him for energizing conservative voters and wished him well.

Source:  Danny Yadron, “Former Rivals Praise Herman Cain,” WSJ WASHINGTON WIRE BLOG

Query

Please take a moment and reflect.

If you wish to comment, that would be appreciated. But if not, please just take a moment and think.

Set aside the fact that Herman Cain is a Republican, that he is black and that he is conservative. Just reflect that up to now, he was a candidate in America for the GOP nomination to run for President in Election 2012.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with his philosophy, viewpoints and politics; whether you would have voted for him or not; Herman had every right as an American citizen to enter upon the playing field; to compete in the game of Presidential politics with Mitt, Rick, Newt, Jon, Michelle and Ron and whoever else seeking to run for President; and, to engage in conversations about the business and affairs of the nation.

This is still the United States of America.

Every qualified man and woman still has an unfettered right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, to enter the race; to say whatever he or she wants to say; and, to do of course within reason whatever he or she wants to do to run for office; get his or her message out to the voters and seek the wins needed in the upcoming primary elections for GOP candidates who want to secure the nomination of the Republican Party, and run against Barack Obama in Election 2012 for President of the United States of America.

Whether Herman had $10 in the bank, or $10 Million, that was his fundamental right. And, it was taken from him.

How?

Not by the well-informed decision-making of voters at the ballot box.

But, essentially by the personal decisions of reporters, analysts, commentators, contributors, writers, editors and others in political media hot to trot about generating a torrent of media coverage concerning sex stories from three unhappy and unimportant women in the business and affairs of the nation anxious to tell their alleged stories from years gone by, but could never adequately explain why they wanted to tell their stories in the first place.

Who really cares, and in reality what difference should it have made to the state of the union and the presidency, what happened 14 years ago to the former National Restaurant Association staff employee who settled her claim, got paid, got another job, made another sexual harassment complaint and at least until one month ago was moving on with her life and career?

Who really cares, and in reality what difference should it have made to the state of the union and the presidency, what happened to the former applicant for a job at the NRA who did nothing and said nothing for all these years about an alleged sexual assault which took place 13 years ago?

Who really cares, and in reality what difference should it have made to the state of the union and the presidency, what allegedly has happening for 13 years  with a consenting women who allegedly was involved a love affair?

Mainstream political media should have been disciplined and stayed focused on the issues affecting the state of the union by keeping Americans informed about those issues and the positions of the GOP candidates on those issues. Just about every media outlet in the nation, however, got off mission,  went rogue, and wasted tons of ink and air time on what amounted to tabloid trivia.

It was mainstream political media coverage in prime time, to use the words of Ron Paul from another context: “beneath the office of the presidency.”

That’s our take, what’s yours?

MEDIA: Election 2012 & national politics-transformation of political media into a feature presentation of the entertainment industry

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Lead

In mainstream political media , is “GOP” a brand?

Media (Quote)

We’re waiting for The Donald to bellow his signature “You’re fired!” at one of the candidates.

Donald Trump will moderate a Dec. 27 debate with Republican candidates in Des Moines, Iowa, debate sponsors Newsmax and ION Television announced Friday.

The real estate, reality TV and Republican Party star, who had a short turn on the GOP primary stage earlier this year, is certain to add some spice to the debate format.

Source:   Mary Lu Carnevale, “Donald Trump to Moderate Dec. 27 Debate With GOP Candidates,”              WSJ WASHINGTON WIRE

The Questions

With the broadcast of Donald Trump hosting the next GOP debate, is national politics emerging to become nothing more than just another feature presentation of the entertainment industry?

Will TV reality stars begin to replace journalists as the “stars” in political entertainment?

Are we witnessing a trans formative moment in the evolution of political media?

Is that emerging development healthy for the future of America’s politics?

Does the GOP even have a candidate with the movie star qualities of President Barack Obama?

OBAMA: Chris Matthews-thrill is gone: are liberals concerned about President Barack Obama?

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Chris Matthews at presidential debate in Dearb...

Image via Wikipedia

Are liberals [really] concerned about President Barack Obama?

VIDEO Lead

Source: See, “Thrill is Gone,” VIDEO, uploaded in News Videos, Sidebar, in which MSNBC‘s Chris Matthews sounds off!

Issues

Is the “thrill [really] gone?”

Or, is the commentary by Chris Matthews, a high profile MSNBC media personality, intended as a strategic diversion to deflect attention and media coverage away from the coverage of Newt Gingrich and the GOP contest?

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OBAMA: 11-11-11: Attempted Assassination of President Barack Obama at The White House

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Headline

“Man charged with trying to assassinate Obama-

Arrested man ‘hates the president,’ official says”

MSNBC Reports (Quote)

An Idaho man charged with firing two shots at the White House last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama.

Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be taken back from a federal court in Pittsburgh to face the charges in Washington, D.C.

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Investigators and the man’s father said Ortega was obsessed with President Barack Obama and the date 11/11/11. Authorities are investigating the man’s mental health and say there are indications he believed attacking the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to two different law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press. There are also indications the man had become obsessed with Obama.

“He hates the president, he hates Washington, he hates society,” one official told The Washington Post.

The man’s father, Ramiro, who lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, told NBC’s Telemundo Spanish News Network that his son was obsessed with the date 11/11/11. Ortega believed the world might end on that day, the father said.

Source: MSNBC.MSN.COM

I begin by commending and thanking the people of law enforcement for apprehending the suspect as quickly as they did. But, this is frightening stuff.

For those not aware, it is reported that the suspect fired the shots at a distance the length of 8 football fields away from The White House. That’s 2,400 feet!

My take for now is that he is very proficient in the use of a weapon to make the shots at that distance with near perfect accuracy.

The other thing unsettling about the incident is that it happened on: 11/11/11, shortly after the release of Stephen King”s new novel about the Kennedy assassination: “11/22/63″

That’s surreal.

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White House Counsel Bauer May Reign In Corporate Political Money Adverse To The President

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Robert Bauer, a Washington, D. C. political power lawyer who recently became White House Counsel, is likely to emerge as the most important in-house counselor to President Barack Obama and his reelection campaign committee as they begin to gird themselves against what could be a torrent of negative advertising openly attacking the President’s leadership, sharply criticizing his policies and aggressively advocating his defeat.

That spate of advertising probably will be fueled by gushers of political money, in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, which corporations are now free to spend seeking to influence the outcome of the 2011 Presidential Election. The prediction is fair in light of the recent decision of the SCOTUS in Citizens United v. FEC. The Supreme Court declared, in a 5-4 decision, that corporations have a free speech right protected by the First Amendment to tap their vast treasuries, without government interference or regulation, and spend unlimited sums of money on advocacy and advertising to defeat or support candidates in federal elections for political offices.

Bauer formerly chaired the political law practice group of Perkins Coie, a national law firm. He is an expert in campaign finance and the regulation of political money. In addition, he has authored several books and maintained a weblog on the subjects. He also has lectured and litigated on the subjects.

More important for the President, Bauer has been his personal lawyer. He represented President Obama in the litigation challenging the President’s nationality and qualifications to serve in office. There is no question about Bauer’s loyalty to the President, and his motivation to lawyer and advocate for the President with zeal.

So what’s the bottom line?

Corporations may spend their treasury money as they please to make independent expenditures playing politics. Having said that, there are still regulations in place limiting their political activities. Those regulations prohibit direct corporate contributions to political candidates; limit the amounts of contributions which can be made to political candidates through corporate political action committees; and, outlaw any political spending in federal elections by foreign corporations.

The law is clear with respect to corporations making independent expenditures. What’s not clear is whether corporations have a First Amendment free speech right to collaborate with political candidates on the expenditure of corporate political money to advocate or advertise the defeat of their opponents. As stated by Craig Engle, head of the Political Law Group at Arent Fox: “These expenditures must still be made independent of the candidate’s campaign.” Supreme Court Strikes Corporate Speech Prohibition in Campaign Finance Case (01-21-10) Link:  Arent Fox Article  That issue alone is likely to generate a slew of complaints, compliance investigations and enforcement suits.

Bauer’s task is clear.

He must give counsel and direct implementation of a broad strategy to monitor and review closely corporate political expenditures for advocacy and advertising adverse to the President. He and his staff must respond quickly and aggressively to any negative advocacy and advertising that damage the President. They also must take the necessary action to assure that the related expenditures comply with the regulations which have survived the Supreme Court decision.