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To my surprise I got this email from Rufus Gifford and the Obama 2012 campaign:  Friend --  I am just so happy.  If you're proud of our president, this is a great time to make a donation to the campaign:   https://donate.barackobama.com/This-Is-Why Quoting from the Obama 2012 campaign site ( This is why ):  The President's support for marriage equality is a clear distinction in this election. We only get to move forward if we re-elect President Obama.  Please donate today. Is it just me, or is the Obama campaign chasing donation money by creating an election issue? If so, the wording is clearly wrong! The campaign should not ask people to donate money just because the Obama national finance director feels happy! To make it clear, I do not oppose donation emails, however this email does not sell the recipient on marriage equality, as it states in the website, but tries to sell the recipient just because Rufus feels happy and proud. Just an ...

First of all I want to say that I don't believe in websites that debunk Internet rumor. As I said in a previous post Debunking smears on the Internet :  "When you make it an issue, it becomes an issue"  AttackWatch.com is a new website that seeks to put the record strait (according to the Obama campaign).  The Obama campaign also keeps FightTheSmears.com a website actually created for the 2008 campaign! The website is still online, along the new  AttackWatch.com . Both of them! Comes to prove that websites that re-produce smears and rumors, do just that: re-produce smears and rumors.  FightTheSmears.com is a 2008 Obama campaign tool, that still keeps the 2008 smears online! The Republicans instead of "Getting the record strait" they just serve "the facts" not the rumors; with the  StimulusSpotlightProject.com  The difference is that they do not re-produce the smears. The website offers bullet point "facts" that target on...

When I updated the Organizing for America app in the iPhone, it transformed to the 2012 election app. It is a pretty straightforward app, with news, multimedia, local events and a donation button (although you have to leave the app to make an actual donation). Using the app, I came across the local events function, I found it really interesting when the app stated that: "Obama" Would like to Use your Current Location . Maybe the choice of words isn't the best, I think that "Organizing for America" Would like to Use your Current Location is the correct phrasing; but I might be wrong. Currently I am in Athens, Greece; but this iPhone app does not offer me any events in my local area, although there are programmed events . I know that http://www.democratsabroad.org/ are really active in Europe, they have "Country Groups" which organize, promote events , register voters, and encourage U.S. citizens to vote early and post their votes. Maybe it's s...

I thought I received an email from the GOP; but no, it was from Melody Barnes and the White House. Melody Barnes is the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, she works as an advisor in Washington DC. In the email she states: The state of the American education system today is unacceptable. (...) For the sake of the next generation, and America's economic future, this has to change. It is unbelievable that a senior White House advisor is using a 2008 talking point. This is what Obama was talking about in the race for the Presidency. It was all about "Change we can believe in", "Vote for Change" and more... How is it that change rhetorics are still in use by the White House, is it a sign that change will be the main theme in 2012? After two years in the White House, the Obama administration states that "Something Must Change". So, what happened during the past years? nothing changed? I think that the 2012 Obama campaign needs to change the creat...

Joe, (VP Joe Biden) emailed Organising for America supporters yesterday, regarding the " Promises Kept Report ". As he states in the email:  Friend -- Telling the story of the past two years will be critical to the fights ahead. And it's not just the story of this president or this White House -- it's your story. And it is literally proof that the organizing you do on the ground -- the conversations you have with your friends and neighbors -- is working. I understand that emailing OFA supporters with the outcomes of the first 2 years in office is a strait-forward move. Nothing new here, and probably, something that is expected from OFA, which is on a campaign mode all the time.  I want to focus on the donation aspect of OFA. When you visit the "Promises Kept Report" website , you can download a pdf of the document, or you can donate $10 dollars or more, to receive 5 print copies. In the donate page it states that: Your donation will cover the c...

The upcoming election campaigns in the States, are probably going into full mode next week, and the Republicans have launched their new campaign bus along with http://www.firenancypelosi.com/ A cool move by the GOP in energizing grassroots campaigners in every bus stop. So where is the bus now? well have a look: Also watch RNC Chairman, Michael Steele talking about the bus tour... you know it's ON! What are the democrats up to? well, they have launched a new http://www.democrats.org  website and re-branded with the new "D" logo. I find the new website much more clean than the old one, but maybe thats because they kept a lot of white space. Anyhow, you can learn more about the new democratic branding changes reading "Democrats, the Brand" Let me also comment on the vast number of email coming from " Organizing for America ", I definetly receive around one per day, maybe more. In the latest one today, the Obama campaign is offering "canvas...

Yesterday I saw these updates on facebook, they were identical, both from Barack Obama and the Democratic Party . They directed to a website, part of the 2010 get out the vote web campaign to " Add your name as a strong supporter of comprehensive energy and climate reform" I would argue that this can be quite excessive use of Internet campaigning from both these accounts to communicate one message. BUT that does not matter. Internet campaigns don't matter, raising money in running for office don't matter. Votes Matter. This is what Alvin Greene said, the 2010 Democratic Nominee for Senate in South Carolina. Alvin Greene is an unemployed Army veteran who had been completely unknown until becoming the state’s Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. Who can disagree with "Votes Matter". Alvin does not have a website and does not have any presence on social media. So, Who’s Alvin Greene? Alvin is running against Jim DeMint, a United States...

Browsing facebook, I came across an update from Barack Obama : We have a choice as a nation. We can return to the failed economic policies of the past, or we can keep building a stronger future. We can go backward, or we can keep moving forward. I want to move forward, and I think America wants to as well. These remarks were made during a speech at Carnegie Mellon University concerning the Economy, on June 02, 2010. It is astonishing that a forward looking politician like Obama, will end up using a cliché pseudo-dilemma as a campaign message. I suppose that with the 2010 mid-term elections coming up, partisan politics will start to re-appear in political speeches. In a recent article on Politico " Obama must match rhetoric, reality " Danielle Pletka, who served on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that: It doesn’t matter what the president and his...

In a recent event at the  Progressive Book Club ,  David Plouffe explains that campaigns matter. It is very interesting to hear that "voter anger" is such a powerful thing to tap into when running a political campaign.  I beleive that this will be a crucial theme with  Tea Parties  gaining more and more momentum and the upcoming Mid-Term election at the end of 2010. It is always good to hear a senior Barack Obama advisor talking politics, and giving insights into the political arguments that the Democrats will use, if healthcare legislation is passed... David Plouffe's new book: The Audacity to Win , is a must read for any person interested in political communications and campaign politics. Watch the Q&A discussion hosted by the GWU Graduate School of Political Management.

The Presidential Citizens Medal recognizes Americans who have performed exemplary for their country or their fellow citizens. This year President Obama is inviting citizens to nominate candidates. The White House website asks: who has inspired you? Who's selfless dedication to service has touched your life or the lives of others? See the Full Criteria for Nomination . Watch the video message After the recent Senate election, Scott Brown  can deserve a Republican citizen medal as the new Republican Senator from Massachusetts! He has managed to shock the Democrats and succeed Senator Kennedy, in a seat held by a Democrat since 1952. It is truly remarkable that he won on the day Pres Obama was sworn in a year ago. Scott Brown won the election on the issue of healthcare. As he writes : I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage, but I am opposed to the health care legislation that is under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. It might have been a sing...