"I was tied up at the time."

BY David All | Monday, October 22 2007

One thing is clear, if John McCain is really going to make the move to be the comeback kid, he's going to have to fight hard, play smart, and hit a few homeruns before the season is up. And perhaps just as important to actually making those great plays is to ensure that as many people see it as possible.

That's just what his modern media team headed up by Patrick Hynes did last night when McCain absolutely nailed a line which included three great buzz words: Woodstock + Hillary Clinton, + Earmarks. And in a subtle but appropriate way that only John McCain could do, he reminded the audience of his experience as a POW in Vietnam. He received a standing ovation from the entire crowd and clearly scored the "line of the night."

Personally, I missed it due to being at a dinner with friends. But fortunately the buzz was already starting among the blackberry crowd and then I found this pretty YouTube link sent around to bloggers from Patrick just staring at me, taunting me for a click:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TNEHMjZ6Pqs

But that's not all Team McCain did. In fact, they clearly realized that McCain had hit a homerun that they needed to capitalize on so their email team whipped up this message late last night:

Dear David,

As two recent polls have shown over the past week, John McCain is the only conservative Republican in this race who can beat Hillary Clinton. During tonight's Fox News debate in Orlando, John McCain told the American people why. He won tonight's debate, he'll win the nomination, he'll beat Hillary Clinton and be the next President of the United States. Even his opponents couldn't help giving him a standing ovation tonight.

Please click here to see why John McCain will beat Hillary Clinton and then help us by making an immediate contribution to the campaign. John McCain is picking up momentum, but we need your continued help tonight to keep it moving.

Thank you for your continued support of John McCain.

Sincerely,

Rick Davis
Campaign Manager

PS - Please help John McCain win the nomination and defeat Hillary Clinton by making an immediate contribution tonight.

If John McCain is going to make a comeback, and some recent polling shows there might be an opening, he's going to have to continue to make smart plays like this when it counts.

[Cross-posted with a smile at TechRepublican]

News Briefs

RSS Feed yesterday >

City of Joplin, Mo. Launches New Online Center Ahead of Tornado's Anniversary

The city of Joplin, Missouri launched its new web site over the week-end ahead of the May 22 anniversary of the massive tornado that devastated the city and killed 161 people. The new site enables Joplin citizens to sign up for emergency alerts via text message, e-mail and RSS. In addition to those alerts, individuals can also sign up for ... GO

In Virginia, City Council Debates to Include Questions Posed Online

The Alexandria Democratic Party in Alexandria, Virginia has partnered with online civic engagement platform ACTion Alexandria to include questions solicited in an online forum in the final Democratic primary debate for a City Council election there on June 4, ahead of the June 12 election, according to a statement released by the group. ACTion Alexandria hopes to work with both parties during the general election.

Participants in the project can add questions to the forum, or vote on questions that have already been posed, although each user is only given three votes to distribute. Users are also encouraged to use their real names. Questions submitted so far hit on topics ranging from broadband access to a ban on food trucks in the city.

Motion Picture Association Names Marc Miller As Its New Online Copyright Cop

The Motion Picture Association of America on Monday named Marc Miller its vice president of online content protection. Miller comes to the MPAA from Nintendo of America, where he was the company's anti-piracy counsel for the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. GO

friday >

Google to Charlie Rangel: You Are Dead to Me.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) might be facing particularly challenging reelection odds this year, at least acording to Google: based on its new Knowledge Graph interface, the search engine says that the very-much-alive Congressman died on November 20, 2004, as Colin Campbell first reported for Politicker via Azi Paybarah and Anthony Adragna. GO

Roemer to Americans Elect: Thanks Anyway

Americans Elect announced recently that it would suspend its online candidate selection process, leaving organizations in several states with an open slot on the ballot. Naturally, potential candidate Buddy Roemer is not enthused. "I am taking the next few days to review with supporters how best to proceed from here," he says. GO

Chris Anderson Says That Nixed TED Talk Was Rated "Mediocre," Links To It Anyway

TED's Chris Anderson responds to criticism of how his idea-spreading operation handled a talk about inequality — and posts video of the talk online. GO

Was the "Ricketts"/Fred Davis Obama-Wright Ad Pitch a Good Deal?

As if the content of the now-discarded plan for a new Super PAC-funded attack campaign against President Barack Obama wasn't controversial enough to grab attention — it would revive attempts to link President Obama to the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright just before the beginning of the Democratic National Convention this summer — the now-discarded plan featured a two-page pitch for a pricey social media component meant to boost its exposure. GO

Facebook's Growing Political Importance, Visualized

To commemorate Facebook's impending IPO, the Sunlight Foundation's* reporting group has a new story chronicling Facebook's increasing political spending. Accompanying the story, though, is an instance of their Capitol Words tool that shows Facebook's increasing relevance in Congress as well. GO

Online Organizing

WeGov

GOP 2012

Obama 2012