In class we have been talking a lot about how the 2008 presidential candidates are affording these longer campaign periods. The article “It’s Political March Madness” http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/23/schneider.march.madness/index.html talks about candidates racing all over the country trying to raise money all before the March 31st deadline ending the first quarter and point where campaigns have to report their funding totals to the Federal Election Commission.
This deadline is important to show who is leading because strong fundraising efforts are seen as a sign of political strength. Hilary Clinton has even gone so far to have her husband Bill record a message posted on her homepage about making an online contribution http://www.hillaryclinton.com/ where a video is shown of him saying the following…
“You know the only real reason to get involved in a campaign for president is that you believe a candidate will be the best president. Based on her experience, her commitment, her passion, her persistence, and her record, I know Hillary will be the best president. If you agree, I hope you will send in a contribution to support her campaign. And please do it by the March 31st deadline.” –Bill Clinton
It is an option to donate $10 to $2,300. Would you ever consider donating money online like this? Does Bill’s message convince you that this is an important way to support your choice candidate? What could other ways of supporting your choice candidate be?
Lastly, should it have been Hillary recording the message instead of Bill so he is not stealing her spotlight?
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5 comments:
Because of the amount of money and supporters that I believe most of these candidates have already, I would not donate money to any one of them at this point in my life (I also am without a job right now, so that might play a part in not donating money to a presidential campaign). I also don't necessarily support how much money is spent on campaigns, so I wouldn't want to partake in being part of that money. We could be using that money to help out our school systems in America, not buying the best type of PR tools in order to win over constituents (whatever happened to good old whistle stop tours...). On a serious note however, I think that it might help Hillary out that her husband is asking for support because he is so popular (as we have discussed before as well...more popular than her), and because this might help convince people that they will be getting a two-for-one deal with Hillary if she is elected, making more people want to vote for her essentially.
Lastly, I believe that Bill could have been more convincing in his little message to get someone to donate money...maybe showing some examples of how that money is used, where it is going to go exactly, and why the candidates seem to need so much money.
For the people who don’t want to contribute money to a campaign, I think a very important way to support a candidate is using word of mouth. People form much of their opinions by what their peers are saying. So if the candidates get a good word of mouth campaign going, this will hopefully have their ‘loyal’ followers attract people who are on the fence of whom they want to vote for.
I think that it works that Bill is trying to help out his wife and he is not stealing the spotlight. Since many people have a positive view of the former president, she can use his credibility to help her. I agree with the blogger’s post above that his message should have been a little bit more convincing. He should have given more specific examples of why it is important to donate to her campaign.
I would have to feel really compled to donate money to a candidate. I do not see myself donating money now because of a number of reasons.
1. I don't bring in enough money right. (Lack of jobs on the market, Thank You President Bush!)
2. Any extra money I have gets sucked up in my gas tank (Thank you President Bush!)
I could go on forever and I am sure so could many of you!
As far as Bill goes, its good that he is supporting his wife Hillary. It can only help Hillary's image more because so many people have a shattered view of her because of Bill's affair with Monica back when he was President.
Using an online resource is a great idea, especially because we are a media engrossed society. And I believe that if someone supports their candidate enough and has faith in their policies and potential duties as President, I think that is perfectly reasonable to send in a donation, if they see fit. After all, if they want their candidate to be President bad enough, they would be willing to support them financially need be.
I think that perhaps if Hillary had recorded that message it would have seemed a bit more personal and effective, because she is the candidate not Bill, but he is also a very large part of her campaign. I don't really think that he is trying to steal her spotlight because Bill Clinton will have a spotlight of his own forever, with his infamous reputation in his own presidency. He is already written in the pages of history, i don't think that a few articles about him working on a campaign are really going to make too much of a difference to him.
Would I donate money? Probably not, mostly because I'm a poor college student. But I think that my donation of time on the campaign trail for the candidate of my choice would be better served.
From a young age, I have taken an interest in political issues including the process of getting elected into office. Over the years, my interests in becoming an elected official have increased. To my knowledge, in order to run a successful campaign you not only need a qualified candidate, you need significant funding as well. I hope, if in my future I decide to run for election in some capacity, I will be able to raise enough money to continue along the campaign trail. One would hope that by donating to another’s campaign, they would produce networking possibilities as well as future donations to one’s own campaign. I feel if someone feels strongly enough about a candidate to donate money to that individuals campaign I feel that they should have the freedom to do so. Most college students do not have substantial amounts of money to donate $2,300 to a campaign. College students should not be expected to donate, but if they desires to they can donate as little as $10. I do not feel obligated to donate money online to support a candidate but if a qualified candidate that I supported was inquiring money, I may consider donate to help fund their campaign.
I believe that Bill’s message convinces me that he is in support of Hilary’s bid for the White House. He speaks briefly, but with sincerity on the subject that donating to a campaign an important way to support your choice candidate. Visitors to www.hillaryclinton.com are most likely prospective voters, who may be interested in making a donation. Reiterating his support for Hilary in the video clip, Bill expresses reasons Hilary is a valuable candidate and deserves donations. In this day and age where technology has become the quick and easy way to send and receive information, I believe creating an efficient way to donate to the Hilary Campaign online such as this is an intelligent move on the part of the Clinton campaign.
It is my knowledge that there are many ways to become involved in a campaign. Holding a candidate’s sign in a busy intersection, going door to door to hand out flyers endorsing your candidate, and wearing a t-shirt with the candidates name on it are a few ways to get involved in a campaign. Another way to become involved in a campaign is to become knowledgeable on the candidate’s key messages and bring the concepts up in conversations you have. But, whether or not it is through making donations, the most important thing I feel is to become involved in political.
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