The campaign of 2008 was one that I thought was more in favor of the candidate than the party. There didn't seem to be much competition among republicans. Johnny McCain seemed to lock up the vote for the GOP pretty quick despite facing stiff competition from Mitt Romney, Rudi Guiliani and Huckabee. On the Democrats side Barack Obama got a little bit of momentum and ended up shooting down Hillary's dream faster than the Jamaican track team's performance in the 2008 Olympics. To me it was the storylines of the election that I found fascinating.
Due to it being 2008, campaigns became a lot more interactive among the people. Technology being the main cause of this. Both Obama and McCain utilized all facets of life, from radio to television to internet. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Kerry and Bush in 2004 didn't use the latter nearly as much as 2008 candidates did in my opinion (My mind might be a little fuzzy in 2004 but I'm pretty sure it wasn't nearly as much). While candidates dominated the election season in 2008 there was no question that this was the year it should have happened.
Many Americans were unhappy with the previous administration and how they had handled many issues in the last eight years and thought it was time for change. John McCain was the sacrificial lamb for the GOP in my opinion. Did they really have a chance after Bush and Cheney's administration. If you're approval rating dips below 50 percent among your own party, you must have done something wrong. McCain seemed like the most moderate candidate for the job after 8 years of a very conservative president. McCain thought Sarah Palin would breathe some life into their campaign and resurrect the republican party so he brough her on as his vice-presidential candidate. That worked for about a week with normal Americans (longer with clueless soccer and hockey moms, my girlfriends included).
Barack Obama on the other hand was the talk of the election. After eight years of conservative rule in the White House, the people wanted change. When Obama had enough steam behind his campaign and Hillary finally conceded, Obama couldn't be stopped. With his campaigns going door to door to houses (I didn't answer) to let it be known Mr. Obama wanted your vote. Hearing his voice on the airwaves and and on my yahoo homepage must have gotten to be pretty expensive. It didn't matter though because he had raised so much money that it wasn't an issue. Democrats essentially just got out of the way and let him do his thing because that is how badly they needed the White House. Was he bigger than the democratic party? Yes he was.
To me 2008 was so big not because of the parties, disarray, or money spent on the campaigns, but because for once I saw some humility from the nominees of both parties. Actual human beings instead of some robot politician doing whatever their party wants.
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I agree, the storylines of the 2008 presidential election were particularly interesting this time around. The battle between Hilary and Obama was quite the sight. The 2008 election was definitely the first time I really paid attention to the elections, so perhaps that’s why I found it so fascinating – but it’s obvious, whether you were a “first-timer” or have been watching elections for years, that this time around technology played a major role. Candidates utilized Facebook, YouTube, blogs, etc. to get the word out and ask for our vote. I am sure many people not so computer savvy were mesmerized by this new wave of campaigning. There was something definitely “different” about this campaign, and I think technology and the horse race the media played out were two big factors.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Teachout's recommendation for how candidates should modify their campaigns to adapt to technology.
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