This Week's Favorite Videos: Huckabee's Phone Call and Gravel's Power to the People
BY Joshua Levy | Friday, November 30 2007
We’re back after a brief Thanksgiving break. Most of these videos should be new to you. If there are couple that aren’t bleeding-edge new, please excuse us: we haven’t had the chance to comment on them yet.
11. GOP YouTube Debate: No snowmen, just snowjobs
Off The Bus’ Shelby Highsmith interviewed our colleague David Colarusso — the co-creator of 10Questions’ — about the CNN/YouTube Republican debate. It’s a good conversation about the deficiencies with CNN’s approach to online politics and what models might work better.
10. The Webby Awards’ 12 Most Influential Online Videos of All Time
None of the videos chosen by the Webby Awards will surprise ardent fans of online video. But they are reminders of just how many web videos have become veritable cultural phenomena. Who could forget Jennicam, All Your Base Are Belong To Us, JibJab’s “This Land,” or SNL’s “Lazy Sunday”? We wonder what videos from the current campaign season might make future lists.
9. Joe is Right
Every once in a while Joe Biden says or does something that commands the respect of his fellow Democrats. In this video, Biden’s team shows just how often he’s getting props from his opponents, even if (or probably because) he’s not getting them from the public. More than 53,000 views on YouTube.
8. Drunk ad 2008
In a twist on the Will Ferrell-meets-a-horse-tranquilizer scene in Old School, this video, produced by Ron Paul supporter boratFAN999, slows down a few speeches from the candidates just enough to make them sound, well, drunk. It’s a moderately funny ad that wears its welcome after about 45 seconds. A bit more than 1,500 views on YouTube.
7. Ron Paul - America Supports You
One of tamest user-created Ron Paul ads we’ve seen. It’s simple: regular Americans tells us why they support Ron Paul. But this one — like many Paul videos — just goes on a little too long. Why do so many Paulites fear brevity? More than 9,000 views on YouTube.
6. John Edwards - 37 Days Until the New Hampshire Primary
Another video in which people begin their sentences with “because.” This time, regular people come in the form of John Edwards supporters, who tell us their reasons for voting for Edwards, most of which stem from working class concerns. More than 4,000 views on YouTube.
5. John Edwards - Mitt Romney and Two Americas?
From the rapid response file comes this ad from John Edwards, released immediately after Wednesday night’s CNN/YouTube Republican debate. The Edwards team — which is usually quick to post rapid response videos and statements — provides a litany of depressing economic facts to fight back against Mitt Romney’s attack on Edwards’ “Two Americas” stump speech. About 14,000 views on YouTube.
4. Revolution Web Ad 30 sec.
Each of the candidates in Wednesday’s CNN/YouTube Republican debate were asked to produce their own video ads. Fred Thompson’s video, in which the avuncular candidate didn’t appear, stuck out: was it a savvy attack on his opponents or a shady reluctance to show us the candidates? More than 4,300 views on YouTube.
3. Huckabee’s Phone Call From God
Think Rudy Giuliani is the only one getting interrupted in the middle of his speeches? This clip of a Mike Huckabee speech from the Republican Governor’s Association dinner in 2004 shows Huckabee getting a very special phone call. But his VIP caller seems a bit too biased on behalf of Republicans… About 7,000 views on YouTube.
2. HuckChuckFacts
Taking off of the popular Chuck Norris Facts meme, Mike Huckabee has Norris shill for him in this amazingly popular video. Chuck: “Mike’s a principled, authentic conservative.” Mike: “Chuck Norris doesn’t endorse, he tells America how it’s gonna be.” With more than 900,000 views on YouTube, this is one of the most popular political videos of the cycle and it’s part of Huckabee’s recent ascension to the top tier.
1. power to the people vs give peace a chance
Newsweek’s Andrew Romano uncovered the “weird, wonderful result” of a collaboration between Mike Gravel and YouTuber rx2008. The videomaker had Gravel recite the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” and “Power to the People” along with his own improvisations. The result is surprisingly good. Could Gravel be neglecting a career in the media arts? About 55,000 views on YouTube.