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Obama Should Have Ignored Mainstream Media and Gone Right to YouTube

By B.L. Ochman

Perhaps too little, too late, but Barak Obama has definitively and formally denounced and distanced himself from the explosive Rev. Wrong. But Obama blew it. He's been Swiftboated by both Rev. Wrong and mainstream media. And he should have fought back - weeks ago, actually - where he's strongest, on YouTube.

Instead of fueling the media feeding frenzy, Obama should have made his case on his site, uploaded the video to YouTube, and let MSM get the story from there.

Because in this election, that's where the story is - online, where young people are. Where the new influencers are.

They're the ones who'll swing this election. They're the ones who are the most sick and tired of the status quo, the bloated election process, the repetition of the same old divisive, ugly, character assassinating crap that elections have been for at least 100 years in America.

It's a subdued Obama talking now. It's a guy who played the Rev Wright card wrong a couple of weeks ago, and who'll pay at the polls. And the same MSM vultures who counted Hillary Clinton out on one loss are counting Obama out because he''s down.

Obama's inexperience is showing. He's been arrogant. I can do without the arrogance. Maybe now we'll get to the real Obama. Because hope is appealing, and hope is needed, so I, for one, for now, am reserving my judgment about Barak Obama's chances.

But Jeez! Somebody update the landing page for BarakObama.com. We've moved way past ephemeral promises. It's time to cut straight to the policies.

Categories: Politics

BL Ochman | Apr 29 08 11:52 | TrackBack (0)

Comments

That's assuming he actually has policies that go beyond the popular, captivating pied piper message of HOPE.

Posted by: @CoachDeb at April 30, 2008 12:50 AM

Deb - you're exactly right. And it's crunch time. He's got to shift the talk to policy and McCain now. But he couldn't dismiss Rev Wrong as insignificant, because he most definitely is not. I'm sure the Bushies are enjoying him.

Posted by: B.L Ochman at April 30, 2008 7:26 AM

Not so sure about that - I'm wondering how many connected young people, who'd turn first to YouTube or his site, are the same people who have their panties in a bunch about the whole Rev. Wright issue.

Seems to me that the Wright issue is a product of the TV-pundit class, speaking to the TV-centric hold-outs of the "real" information stream.

Posted by: Chris Moritz at April 30, 2008 2:32 PM

He really does need to focus on policy -- I think all voters are waiting for it. But I don't think a lot of young people put a lot of stock into the Rev. Wright issue. Most will overlook that for the sake of change and being able to identify with a younger, possibly more modern president with fresh "professorial" ideas.

Posted by: Wendy Bigham at May 1, 2008 8:54 AM

It appears that Rev Wright beat Obama to YouTube...and who knows what old Obama acquaintances are next to grab their 15 days of YouTube fame?

Once the general election fires up, Rev. Wright will be on the big tube and YouTube more than Obama...that's politics in America.

Posted by: John Gillett at May 1, 2008 11:38 AM

You're absolutely correct, as usual.

Obama should've done a Denunciation/Repudiation Video on JustinTV or UstreamTV, uploaded to YouTube, KyteTV, MySpace, Facebook, etc. then used Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku to link to it.

Digital natives, geeks, netizens, early adopters, and bloggers may not all be able to vote, but they can create buzz all over the internet, quickly, cheaply, abundantly.

Politicians should have their own "Geek Crew" who work the socnets in an ethical, mutual benefit, interesting manner.

What sorry, out-of-touch fools our politicians, and all leaders, are!

Posted by: vaspers at May 1, 2008 4:04 PM

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About BL Ochman

Blogger, social media strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and sought-after corporate speaker B.L. Ochman heads the creative team of whatsnextonline.com. She also publishes the Ethics Crisis blog for SRF Global Translations

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