Filed under: Election 2008
… the August 2008 edition.
Democratic supporters (and even some Republicans) woke up in the middle of the night (3 AM Eastern Time) to the beeps of a text message received. The Obama campaign had picked Joe Biden to be our VP.
I unfortunately was sleeping. I got the message when my alarm clock (also on my phone) rang at 7 am.
Still, the whole idea of announcing the VP via text astounds me.
Obviously, the campaign didn’t plan to send out the texts at 3 AM (it’s kind of rude to wake people up, don’t you think?). But it focuses the reader back to Hillary’s 3 AM phone call ads of the primary. First of all, because it’s 3 AM. Second of all because it’s a phone call.
But there are some changes to the ad. First, Obama and Biden are on the other line calling you, the American citizens. Second, if this was an issue of national security, Obama and Biden are there will all of their experience, new ideas, and honesty to help guide America through the crisis. Further, you are there too (a sharp contrast to the WMD fiasco of Iraq) to help America. Finally, because Biden is our VP, chosen specifically by our President Obama, we know that we can trust both of them to protect us, while also being open and engaging with us.
The American people are as much a part of the government as the Senators, Representatives, VP, and President (even though, these later four have much more power than ordinary citizens). Our democracy is different and was a large change from the past monarchies because people participate in the decisions of the country. By stating that Biden was our VP, Obama is bringing the American people into the process, one which the Bush administration has excluded us from for the past 8 years.
Plus, by having people sign up for a text message in order to get the VP news first, the Obama campaign just got a whole database of supporters and volunteers to get help from as November approaches, the last push for new registration begins, and GOTV starts.
Smart thinking Obama campaign! The one flaw, was that it was not exactly executed as well as it could have been, but the 3 AM text message could work to your advantage.
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