On-Line Political Advertising

Candidates and campaign consultants should read an excellent article in Politics magazine about on-line political advertising. The author is Richard J. Kosinski, who is VP of political advertising for Yahoo. His firm obviously stands to benefit from his suggestions, but he makes some very good points.

Everyone in politics these days agrees that all campaigns need an on-line strategy. But too often they think that strategy consists mostly of having a full-featured web site, a presence on YouTube and Facebook, e-mail blasts, and using their web site and e-mail to raise money. All those things are quite inexpensive and should be done. But campaigns miss out on a great opportunity if they don’t also consider paid on-line advertising in their web strategies. Paid on-line advertising has become more sophisticated and effective than most people realize.

Many campaigns don’t know that through paid on-line advertising you can target specific audiences by geography and demographics, reaching the groups you need to reach.  “… political campaigns are about seven years behind the private sector in their use of the Internet as a paid media vehicle,” writes Kosinski. “… the real opportunity is to use the Internet as a paid media platform to run, track and move persuasion metrics.” It’s not difficult to do paid Internet advertising targeting narrow audiences, but most campaigns will need the advice of a good on-line/interactive strategist who knows what they’re doing. Most good ad agencies have such a person. 

Economy Stalled Out, Slow Progress Ahead

Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update this week suggests that the economic doldrums may be harder to shake than the conventional wisdom suggests. Many economists expect “that a return to noticeable economic growth is likely during 2008’s second half, with a return to still more impressive performance during 2009.” To use a driving analogy, economists see the economy currently stalled by the side of the road undergoing repairs.

“I think the conventional wisdom may be a bit too optimistic,” Thredgold says. “I also see the economy currently stalled by the side of the road. Unfortunately, the car has two flat tires and one tire severely under-inflated.” Thredgold does see some forward progress by the end of the year or early next year, but it will hardly be “worth writing home about.”

Washington Watch

Hatch: Reaffirm Bond with Israel
Sen. Orrin Hatch joins "a broad, bi-partisan coalition of Senators cosponsoring a resolution to commemorate the modern State of Israel's 60th anniversary, and to reaffirm the United States' bond of close friendship and cooperation with Israel" (see press release).

Political People Watch

Jared Whitley, who spent the last couple of years as deputy press secretary for Sen. Orrin Hatch, has taken a job as associate director for rapid response on the White House communications team. Says Whitley in a message to his friends, “Obviously, this is the tail end of the Bush Administration, so the position will only last until next January.” And if a great job doesn’t pop up after that, “there’s always grad school.”

Today in Political History

April 24, 1704: The "Boston News-Letter," the first successful newspaper in the U.S., is established.  (Source:  NCBuy) 

April 24, 1800:  Congress approves a bill establishing the Library of Congress. (Source:  NBC5) 

Wise Words

If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honor of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation. 

-- Samuel Adams, 1780 - letter to Elbridge Gerry  (Source:  Patriot Post) 

Utah Political Trivia

A First for Women

Question:  Who was the first woman elected to a State Senate seat in the United States?

Answer: Utahn Martha Hughes Cannon, a physician by trade and a proponent of health legislation and social welfare programs. She was elected to the Utah Senate in 1896 (Utah’s History by:  Richard D. Poll, Thomas G. Alexander, et al., Brigham Young University Press 1978, page 575-576)

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Philadelphia Inquirer: Columnist Dick Polman says of Hillary Clinton's victory Tuesday: "Six weeks of bowling and Bittergate and Pastorgate and nonexistent Bosnian snipers ... and for what? The Pennsylvania results have essentially changed nothing. There is seemingly no cure for the chronic Democratic migraine -- and the fear, among so many members, that they are tearing themselves asunder."

-- Washington Post: Barack Obama is now "likely to make his new negative tone even more negative -- with a sharp eye on trying to end the Democratic presidential nomination fight after the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina."

-- Politico: "With a demographic landscape that's well-suited to both [Clinton and Obama], Indiana is shaping up to be the most consequential battleground of the remaining states."

-- Reuters: The longer the brawl between Clinton and Obama lasts, the more time John McCain has to raise money and lay the groundwork for his general election campaign.

Blog Watch

-- At Out of Context, Dan Harrie reports: "Gun Owners of Utah, which previously had promised to make the election 'painful' for Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble and state Rep. Steve Urquhart for alleged anti-gun politics, now is suggesting the group might turn its sights on the Legislature's biggest target: House Speaker Greg Curtis. The gun-rights group in an email alert to members [Wednesday] said they now believe -- based on what Urquhart told them -- that Curtis and Senate President John Valentine were responsible for derailing a pro-gun bill in the Legislature. While they haven't heard the two legislative leaders' side yet, the group's alert says 'we are assuming that they (allegations) are true.' 'We will see what can be done to create political pain for them during the coming election cycle.' But, as the group acknowledges, that could prove more than difficult. Valentine is running without challenger for re-election and Curtis has no Republican opponent, though he faces a Democrat in the general election. Democrat Jay Seegmiller is probably NOT going to get the gun-rights endorsement since he suggests on his web site that universities should be able to ban concealed guns from campus. Even beyond that, the group's threats appear hollow. In an April 3 post, I pointed out Gun Owners of Utah's threat to cause Bramble and Urquhart pain in their respective county Republican conventions. Bramble's convention is upcoming, but Urquhart had his last Saturday and destroyed his Senate seat opponent with better than 70 percent of the vote. So much for the power of the gun lobby against Republican incumbents."

Lighter Side

Best of Late Night Humor

David Letterman: Some winning entries in the “Top Ten Contest,” the “Top Ten Signs Katie Couric Doesn’t Care Anymore”: She now does the broadcast in her bathrobe and curlers (Hollywood, CA); She introduces the new members of her news team: Jim Beam and Jack Daniels (Azle, TX); Reports the over/under on how many days she has left (Roanoke, VA); Has listed her anchor chair on eBay (Wyanet, IL); Laughs out loud every time she says “Putin” (Sebring, FL); “Tonight’s top story: Some stuff I found in my pocket” (Austin, TX); Tapes entire week’s newscasts on Monday (Sachse, TX); Just repeats everything Brian Williams says about three seconds later (King, NC).

Jay Leno: In Pennsylvania, Hillary and Obama celebrated Earth Day by throwing dirt at each other. ... According to some of the political blogs, Democratic operatives have been looking for dirt on John McCain since February. You know what you call someone who digs up dirt on John McCain? An archaeologist. ... I watched the debate between Hillary and Barack. It was interesting. She was kinda lashing out at him, but to be fair, I think it was just the liquor talking. ... As you know, Hillary Clinton is trying to appeal to the blue-collar voters. She’s drinking, talking about hunting and fishing, and it’s working. She is now, in the latest poll, up eight points in the mullet vote. ... On “Hardball” the other day, a student asked John McCain to do shots with him after the debate, and all of the candidates have their favorite drinks now. For example, John McCain, he prefers Old Granddad. He likes that. Barack Obama, he likes the elitist Manhattan with extra bitters. And, of course, Hillary likes a shot of Old Crow, straight up. ... With oil prices hitting an all-time high, Barack Obama promised today if he is elected, he will fund research to develop a car that runs on the bitterness of economically-strapped Pennsylvania voters. ... This week, President Bush named a new HUD chief. Bush says he wants to reverse the direction of HUD. Now if you reverse HUD, doesn’t that give you “DUH?”