Tag Archives: Presidential Election

America – What a Country

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Now is the time to come together as a nation and to get back to work.

No more fighting. No more talking. All sacrifice and dedication and focus to work together to make America a great country once again. Unified and organized to succeed and to redefine the American Dream. America has always been about hard work and about positive outcomes and independence and doing the right thing the right way. It is the shining light in a shadowy world. It is about diversity; youth and promise; energy and passion about Democracy; and a collective will to do good.

We should be proud of ourselves. America has always been about change and about restlessness and fighting status quo. We are – at our heart – revolutionaries and the good fight was fought and won. The better candidate won. Our new President-Elect had a clearer message; a better organization; more resources; better plans; a great use of the web; and an uplifting message that America responded to overwhelmingly!

Both candidates brought honor to the democratic process of electing a President. But now we are no longer Republicans or Democrats, we are Americans. We have elected a new President. He has a mandate and a majority in the Senate and Congress. The country asked for and demanded change and we will now get it. Let us all work together to help make America great again. It feels like a great man once said, “Morning in America”. Wake up now and let us get back to work.

I Voted

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I voted. My wife voted too.

I hope you will all get out and vote. If you don’t, don’t whine or complain. Being able to vote and be involved in politics is a uniquely democratic experience.

We are fortunate as a people to be able to vote. Stating the obvious - get out the vote – every vote counts.

The Experts are Always Wrong: A Rant

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I believe if the Presidential election were held today that the Republican ticket would win. THAT is stunning. How could that be you ask? How could the Democratic ticket have snatched defeat from the jaws of apparent victory?

I think the Democrats have done very poor marketing and positioning of late of their ticket. They had better change before it is too late if they want to win. Think of this take as purely an exercise in marketing not as my personal political agenda as I do not have one here.

The media and the Democratic marketing machine have positioned Obama as the “establishment”; as the clear winner; and as a “media darling.” The Democratic Convention – I believe – backfired as it was more a coronation than a political rally and convention. Obama is coming off as a defender of the Presidential position and McCain as the attacker and agent of change. Wow. Think of that dipsy-doodle move? I believe America embraces underdogs and outsiders. Overreacting to Obama’s lack of experience and trying to make him the “new establishment” was a bad move. Consumers sniff out inauthenticity a mile away. They liked and respected the old Obama. They don’t recognize the new and improved Obama and he is being packaged as just another politician. The angrier he gets, the worse he does in the polls. Obama should use niceness as his competitive weapon.

When the Democratic ticket took the high road and when Obama was seen a healer, as an outsider, as an agent of change without a lot of political baggage, his scores soared with voters and undecideds. That was why he was able to get more votes than Hillary in the primary. When he looks like another politician with experience and is an attacker and gets dirty in the mud, he loses esteem with voters. Look at Palin’s scores right now. She is beloved just because she ISN’T seen as a typical politician. Her lack of experience and freshness is seen as a positive NOT a negative. Whenever she is mocked by the media establishment her scores soar. Why? Most of America dislikes and distrusts mainstream media. The more the mainstream media attacks Palin, the better the Republicans do. I know that sounds counterintuitive but I believe it is true and the recent polls I believe are proving me right. As I noted before, if mainstream media really does want Obama to win, then they should cuckold McCain. :-) Or at least be seen as neutral and allow the candidates voices to be heard loud and clear.

Obama should NOT attack. He shouldn’t respond daily to every tit for tat. He should soar above the noise. He should create a manifesto of change and communicate it at every opportunity. He should belittle the conversation not the people talking. He should focus on what he means by his change and he should get himself repositioned as a national healer, as a centrist and as someone who can reach across the aisle and create a national mandate to make the country great again. He needs to be a man with a plan and not be seen as a man who is being handled by experts and a political party.

He should NOT be seen as bedfellows with the national media. It is truly stunning to me as an observer to watch how the Democrats have shot themselves in the foot since the European tour for Obama. I don’t think the campaign has hit on its “Change: I am an outsider and not your normal politician” theme since that trip which made him look like he was already the President and was running for re-election. As he became the ”incumbent” with the media, McCain became the outsider and the agent of change and our country wants change. McCain’s choice of Palin on the ticket was brilliant and the media thought it was dumb. The mainstream media is out of touch with America. It is mostly always wrong.

This turnaround in the polls is stunning. This election could become a case history in just bad positioning and marketing by a major political party.

I am Neither a Democrat or a Republican

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I believe I am an independent thinker and I know I am one of those undecided voters that is so in demand right now. I am looking for a leader AND a manager. Someone who focuses on the big picture but knows how to get things done. Someone who knows we need change but someone who will be able to deliver.

If I were President, here would be the ten point program I would be focused on come the new year post inauguration:

  1. Further redefine the role of Government. Be an activist and authentic on big national matters and clarify what Federal operations do and decentralize more activist programs down to the state and local levels. Think globally but act locally as all politics are local. We see that this weekend as a major hurricane is heading towards Louisiana and the work of the Governor and Mayor of New Orleans are more important than the work of the Department of Homeland Security, as it should be. The levees are a major infrastructural program to be co-managed by national and local bodies with funding from the US Government as a key deliverable. It is great that President Bush is personally involved but let us be honest; this is a state and city issue with the US Government supporting the local authorities.
  2. Focus on infrastructure-related programs. Our roads; bridges; levees; power grids; communications; broadband; water; fuel delivery; and related services need to upgraded and enhanced. Without excellent infrastructure our economy cannot be improved. The quality of life and our collective safety and security will be in danger. This is not sexy. It is all management and tactical but if we can’t deliver clean water, electricity and safe roads and bridges; where will we be as a nation? Look at the third world and the major issues that plague some countries all evolve around basics such as clean water, disease control, etc. etc.
  3. Dedicate ourselves to green technology. We need to focus our investment and resources and tax breaks on companies that can create and develop alternative fuels and methodologies to get off of the total dependence on foreign fuel in 10 years. Make this a Manhattan Project-like program. We will save money. We will create jobs. We will stimulate the US automotive industry. We will create great new US-based wealth. We will rob our enemies of cash to fund nefarious operations against us. We can get our carbon footprint way down and reclaim the moral high ground and set an example for other nations to follow. We can also work with universities to create majors and a curriculum that is focused on these new categories of study.
  4. Educate. Focus on investment in math, science, basic reading and technology. We need to graduate 100,000 PhDs per year then a half a million PhDs per year to stay competitive in our global economy. The race is on for great thinkers and brain power mostly in math and sciences. We should bonus students in these key categories and make our leadership in technology a key deliverable for the sake of our economy. It wouldn’t hurt if we could all learn to speak Mandarin, too, as China will graduate 1 million PhDs this year - to our 25,000 – in math and computer sciences.
  5. Make community service a mandatory deliverable. Perhaps we should make college a five year program with every student needing to volunteer for a year in their community or outside the US via a series of programs. The government could pay a stipend and this would enlighten young adults to the world around them and our best advertisement for democracy would be a huge volunteer force of great young Americans thinking of their place in the world and NOT focused on consumerism and immediate career gratification. The government should reinvest in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and all volunteer-related programs.
  6. Re-purpose our military away from being a police force to being a force of quiet strength and one that does good work around the world. When a major global catastrophe hits, our military can help foreign lands and this good work elevates our standing in the world’s eyes. We need to continue to invest in technology-based solutions to keep our nation and people safe and secure but our military should be used as a force of last resort. And whenever we fight, it must be within a coalition of other nations. The world is too big now to fight battles on our own. Investment in foreign lands is usually a better way to maintain the peace than providing a few good men to wage war. We need a stronger and larger and better trained and outfitted military but it also needs to be used with the greatest of care. We also must elevate how we deal with returning soldiers who protect us. We need better educational programs and financial aid programs and when one is injured, all care and resources should be dedicated to them in repayment for their services to our country.
  7. Healthcare. It is time to focus on health - not just treatment - and create stimulus to a healthier lifestyle and tax breaks for the healthiest amongst us. We should be able to provide a basic level of free healthcare to all. This should be a major deliverable of the federal, state and local governments as well as private concerns. If independent companies don’t want to see government-handled health care, they need to step up and work as a team to get all US citizens coverage and no one should be turned away. Health, safety, security, education and infrastructure, these are all basic deliverables of government. Tell the people of the US what this will cost. We will pay it. Tax us for this deliverable. We can handle it. We want it.
  8. It is still the economy stupid!!!! Create a system that rewards more start-ups in technology-based businesses. Focus on cleaning up the financial services sector to get the banks able to make loans again to small businesses and homeowners. Buy American to keep our dollars in the US. Tax heavily global purchases so that we keep dollars flowing within our own borders. Stop borrowing so much money from countries like China. These debts will have to be paid and we are weakening ourselves as a nation. If we can’t pay in cash as a country, we shouldn’t be buying it. Stop the outsourcing. Train Americans to do the work in the new sectors. These investments will pay back in the mid and long term. Instead of taxing big oil companies demand that they re-purpose a big portion of their profits into alternative energy programs.
  9. Build a real budget. If we zero base budget and create a true annual set of programs - and we need to raise taxes to fund these programs - I believe that Americans will rise up and pay up. We want as a people to do the right thing. We just want to know that our dollars are being spent the right way and that the budget is being created the way one creates their own family budget. It should be based on priorities and must-haves not nice-to-haves. I also believe that the President should call on Americans to do the right and honorable thing. Be straightforward with the asks. The country will respond in kind. Tell us what we will fund but also tell us what we will cut and why.
  10. Whoever becomes President needs to conduct themselves in a manner so that you are BOTH needed and loved. I would blog daily as President. I would hold monthly meetings with the country and let the press listen in. I would create a communications connection that senses and responds and hears of issues early, perhaps via a people’s social network. I would focus on transparency and create a consumer cabinet that sits aside my professional cabinet so I never lose sight of real world issues. I would create a scoreboard on the deliverables promised and publish how we are doing against those metrics. And when we fall behind, create a sense of urgency to fix the issues and report on them publicly. As in all relationships, communication and listening are key. Caring about the major issues and hearing the signal instead of getting lost in the noise seems to be a real talent that we need from our leadership. Using the technologies and media available to us would be a huge first step in getting closer to a collective crowd-like sourcing to help our new President “get it” and lead us in a more efficient and able way.

Our new President needs to be able to hold a mirror up to America. He needs to create a huge tent for all of us to get under and believe in a basic way of life and a set of programs that we all sign up to regardless of our individual political leanings. We are at that time where ”if we don’t all hang together, we will hang separately.”

My Take on the Polls: A Warning to MSM

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I live in Washington, DC. I work in the media and entertainment industries. I chum around with people that are obsessed with politics. And many are just floored that the presidential election seems to be so tight with a neck and neck race between McCain and Obama shaping up. Just look at the most recent polls. I, on the other hand, am not surprised at all with the most recent poll findings and snapshot of voter intentions.

Many of my friends don’t get it. And that is because they are as disconnected to the real world as am I. I am sad to say. The real world is broad and evenly split between liberals and conservatives and each state is local and has its own needs and its own tastes and its own set of deliverables that it is looking for in a President. The silent majority plays it pretty straight. It is the guts of our country and populace. The fight will be hand to hand combat in a few key states. The fight won’t be what the media elite want. It will be decided by organizations in the field that can turn out the vote and can activate the most undecided voters to vote for a particular candidate. Same as it ever was in a presidential election in the modern era. One little state voting for one candidate can make all of the difference in a Presidential race and those states tend NOT to be media capitals of the industry.

Many people want change. Many like the status quo. Many want a real election and debate and would not offer up a clear path to the White House to any candidate without real scrutiny and work. They are contrarians.

I have no deep party affiliations and you will never really know who I will vote for. I tend to financially support many candidates because I believe in the process and as I get to know candidates, sometimes I come to really believe in them personally. But I also believe that you never talk about “God, sex and politics” in a public forum.

One thing I am coming around to though is this: The general populace does not like mainstream media. If mainstream media supports a candidate, it can actually work out to have a reverse effect. Hence the more the mainstream media appoints Obama to be President, the less likely he is to be voted in. The more they make Obama look like the President today, the more they make McCain look like the attacker brand, the true agent of change. It is very ironic, isn’t it?

If my friends in the mainstream media really want Obama to win they should lay off because right now I see the MSM hurting their own candidate by fawning over him. America wants a fair race and doesn’t trust politicians and doesn’t trust media as well. The mainstream media must allow the process to play out. Let the organization with the best process and the candidate with the best message win out naturally. They need to trust Americans to make the right choice on their own.