Okay, so I said I'd do it today and I wasn't fibbing. Here goes....
Let's start with the easy one:
http://explorehuckabee.com
- Republicans are....RED...not blue. Yes, we know it's your favorite color, but people will make the Pavlovian mistake of thinking you're a Democrat before they even look at your face.
- Your interview with Jon Steward was stellar. That needs to be the permanent top item on your video page. However, that "split" that was done didn't really split anything. The first file is the full interview and the second one can go away.
- Your interview with Tim Russert needs to dissapear. Seriously, it needs to go bye-bye. Democrats (and many Republicans) will use this video to bury you. Publicizing it makes and advertisement that you're unelectable. It was not a good interview.
- Optionally, you may want to host get the videos hosted on the Huckabee site instead of linking them out to their respective sources. Get permission from the owners to host them outside if their site but remember to give the stations credit. It looks more professional. (They also load faster when you're not relying on external sites for your feeds. Remember, the military can't watch YouTube.)
- Video Fronts - Take a favorable looking snapshot out of each interview and put it as the first frame in the video. When people look through the videos they'll see Huckabee's shining face, not a mess of random fuzz.
- Audio - Again, host these on the Huckabee site, not someone else's. The two different formats present an unprofessional appearance.
- Transcripts - Both the video and the audio should have transcripts that go along with them. It will make you look like you care about the hearing imparied and, by association, the handicapped. You could even put a little blue "hearing imparied" button for each transcript link.
- Again, the front image is bathed in blue. Mike's in front of a blue America with a blue tie. He's screaming democrat. I have a red tie I'd be willing to send him it he doesn't have one.
- Contacts - The email contacts are nice, but there should be a built in mail transmission tool on that page. It makes it easier for people that strictly use webmail.
- Eisenhower - The "I Like Mike" buttons were stolen directly from the "I Like Ike" campaign. The only people old enough to remember it are the ones that will appreciate it. Keep it. It's catchy.
- The Blog - Very well done. Quite professional. Kudos. You're going to want to be careful with the comments section though.
- There needs to be a link to the new site from explorehuckabee.com. There should also be a few links to the supporting organizations.
Okay, I know I was nit-picky about it, but it's something that needs to be addressed. I'll get to work critiquing the other site later.
Good luck!
Posted by aakaakaak at June 21, 2007 03:00 PM | TrackBack"Republicans are....RED...not blue. Yes, we know it's your favorite color, but people will make the Pavlovian mistake of thinking you're a Democrat before they even look at your face"
In this political climate, that should be seen as a brilliant campaign decision.
Posted by: Nobody at June 23, 2007 01:48 PMWould you vote for somebody that wears a bow-tie? As asinine as that question sounds there are a good many people who distrust people with bow-ties. The same goes for beards. Initial impressions DO count.
Anyway, I've been thinking about it and don't have enough confidense in him. I just don't see him as a leader. Yes, he's the most conservative horse in the race, but if you can't hire good help you may as well not even be in the race.
What I meant was that this is the weakest Republican field I've seen in probably forever, the President is despised as is his party, and the voting public is generally disgusted with the war and it's cheerleaders. Looking more like a Dem can only help.
I'm actually surprised Huckabee is not polling better. In many ways, he can be seen as very moderate if not liberal. His school district consolidation plan in Arkansas was widely considered a success, and his school nutrition guidelines are the best in the country. He is more un-Bush than any of the top-tier candidates in many ways, and with Mr. 27% looking to topple Nixon as the most unpopular President ever, that is a good position to be in.
Posted by: Nobody at June 23, 2007 06:09 PMAh, that makes betters sense now. Yes, I can see why he's not doing any better than the floundering fish that have declared. We've got problems when Guiliani is our moral compass. More problems when McCain's scowl is the smiling face on everybody's television set. And even worse when Republicans try and elect a waffler that makes Kerry look like the straight and narrow. Huckabee has just as many skills as any one of them, which is saying very little.
As for Mr. 27%...
I have a theory that his most recent rounds of WTF decisions are an attempt to distance himself from the viable candidates enough so that there's no way anybody could draw back to him, thus making the "hate bush" crowd moot. Of course, this would mean Pres. Bush has the mental capacity to pull something like this off....or at least Rove or somebody would need to guid him to it.
I think the only question right now is whether our next president will be black or female.
Posted by: Nobody at June 24, 2007 07:29 PMI beg to differ. Keep an eye on the 4th of July. That's supposed to be when Fred Thompson announces. The buzz he has going along with him polling higher even though he hasn't announced puts him as the hands down leader.
"black or female"
Considering Hillary has enough dirt on her to bury a dozen people I'm not concerned with her. Anybody worth their weight in campaign buttons will be able to systematically destroy her with the truth.
In truth I'm a tad worried about Barack Hussein Obama. He's black enough to get the black vote, arab enough to get the muslim vote and liberal enough for all the "bush haters" to follow behind him. That's not what concerns me though. The last time we had someone as "green" as him in the White House was Jimmy Carter. The only good thing I remember Jimmy starting was habitat for humanity.
Posted by: Jeremy H. Bol at June 24, 2007 08:15 PMThompson.
The great white hope.
Whatever . . . yawn.
In truth, I think you are being rather simplistic in your analysis.
"Hillary has enough dirt on her to bury a dozen people"
Her negatives are high and that plays against her. Not much room to convince undecideds, that's for sure.
"Barack Hussein Obama. He's black enough to get the black vote, arab enough to get the muslim vote"
Dude. Lay off the racist pills. Do you want to win, or do you want to further the stereotype that Republicans are prejudiced?
Blacks poll very well for Hillary, actually. Do you think that the "muslim vote" will go to the Christian Barack because of his middle name (that he did not choose)?
Regardless, the general election will depend on the general public, of which these groups you mentioned are still a minority.
The majority still hate this Republican party and this President, and that is how they will vote.
Posted by: Nobody at June 26, 2007 12:35 AMLay off the racist pills? maybe you should take some of your own medicine. The great "white" hope? I'd use the word hypocritical, but I'm sure it was a slip of the tongue.
I'm talking directly to demographics. Arabs/Muslims rarely vote in U.S. elections. They don't feel that there's anybody that supports their values. Wouldn't at least some of them be thinking that Mr. Hussein is one of them? I think so.
Truth be told people tend to congregate with their own race. It's not racism. You simply tend to group with people that are more like you than unlike you. Who would you ask for directions? A big "white" burly biker named killer or a "black man" named Steve in a polo shirt playing with his Garman GPS? Personally, I think I'd have more of an ability to talk with the black guy in that scenario. Not racist in the least.
...and I think the majority will be voting for the person that flings the least crap and looks most convincing. There is a lack of support for either party for the way both of them are behaving during a time of crisis. At least that's the way I feel about it. Hell, I can't really call myself a Republican anymore.