The Informercial & the School Board

First off, last night's Barack Obama infomercial was impressive. From a purely production standpoint, it was flawless. Twenty-six minutes of prepared footage followed by 4 minutes from a live Obama campaign event in Florida. Was it effective? I don't know. But it did showcase Obama in the best light.

At one point while I was watching, I thought back to a movie called The American President, written by Aaron Sorkin. Near the end of the movie, the president, played by Michael Douglas, says, "...making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character." And while last night's infomercial wasn't about making you afraid (the whole thing had a hopeful overtone) or telling you who to blame (no mention of John McCain and only an insinuation toward George W. Bush), the last sentence of the quote is dead on.

Was it expensive? Yes. Did it paint a favorable picture of Obama to the American people? Very much yes. Did it draw too much attention to the fact that Obama was only able to do this because he opted-out of public financing against his own promise? Maybe. Will it help? We'll see, though even if he wins there will probably be no telling of how much, if at all, this particular ad-buy may have helped.

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In other news, there is fantastic story coming out of Florida that I need to make you aware of. There is a school district in Florida (whose name I cannot find at the moment) who has run a voter registration drive and successfully registered 3600 seniors who are of age. And what's more, they are taking the seniors on field trips to early vote.

This is amazing, and every school district nation-wide should implement a program like this. In New York State, all high school seniors must take and pass a "Participation in Government" class in order to graduate. Voting is the most fundamental participation in government. Get the students involved early, in anyway that you can.