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!
...okay, I just needed to say that. I know somebody else is going to come up with the tag line anyway, so I wanted to be the first.
On a serious note:
After reviewing a few of his videos and going to both his sites I'm going to let the Huckabee team that they need to clean things up in a serious way. If you guys are reading I'm apologizing ahead of time. Nothing here is meant to demean, belittle, disgrace or embarass andybody. Mike Huckabee has a decent shot as long as he can get a good handler and staff. It is not the person that makes a good leader. It is the people that he knows and takes advice from that make him a good leader.
Before I get into the slaughter I'd just like to point out that this is a full on critique of a Presidential candidite I think might have potential. They've certainly got the foot runners Mr. Tracy (with no "e") and Mr. Harris (with no blog of his own that I know about).
It's time to dig into the heart of the matter: The Website(s)
BOTH of them have issues. I'm not sure where to start. Probably the best place to start would be to pay somebody a thousand bucks or so to completely clean the site. Once it's up and running it wouldn't be too hard for somebody to keep it going. The guy working it right now isn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination (hell, it's better than my blog) but if Governer Huckabee is going to be the president he needs a professional, presidential website.
....
Tomorrow will include an in-depth review of both sites:
http://explorehuckabee.com (Not too much of a problem.)
http://teamhuckabee.com (Huston, we have a problem...)
Honestly, for Senator Mike Huckabee's campaign to succeed it needs a good web presence. This includes the websites.
(Note: http://mikehuckabee.com is being camped by somebody who has it in for Mr. Huckabee. The Google cache shows something about a rapist that was set free by Mr. Huckabee and later killed two people.)
Looks like everywhere I turn in the blogosphere people are moving towards Fred Thompson. The guy hsn't even officially announced he's running yet and beating out the likes of Guiliani and Romney. Just imagine what's going to happen when he actually starts running. To be honest I'm truely amazed by his instant popularity. Fred Thompson is the Republican rock star in 2008.
Personally I'm impressed by him. I'm not gonig to officially throw it in for him yet, but out of the current field of candidates he's the one I like the most. Sure he sounds like a cross between Reagan and the Quaker Oats guy then looks like a cross between Marlon Brando and George C. Scott (from Patton), but there's a direct, rational demeaonor he gives off when he speaks. It kind of makes you feel like everything's going to come out in the wash. He sounds like the rock in a sea of ever-swaying wind-blown politicians.
As with anybody there's going to be a few skeletons in his closet. Some people think his abortion stance "isn't strong enough". Others complain about his "trophy wife". Still more think his actions as a trial lawyer make him as bad as Senator Edwards. Personally, I'd just like to know the story of what happened to his first wife. Did she die, did he cheat, what's the story? I don't think I've heard enough about his personal life to commit. I know it sounds petty, but I'd just like the assurance that his divorce wasn't because of some huge scandal or something.
Anyway, the other reason I'm not full-blown into the Fred Frenzy is because there's still that one other politician out there that I haven't looked into. Yep, I've been lazy and haven't looked into what Huckabee has to offer. Well, it looks like it's time for me to buckle down and look into it.
And if anybody had the full lowdown on Fred Thompson's first wife could you fill me in?
These were not my words, but an Arab secularist on Al-Jazeera. It came out over a year ago, but I just now found it translated on Google Video. Just read along with her tongue lashing of Islam. It's a sight to behold. If only Americans could speak so plainly.
Arab-American Psycologist, Wafa Sultan on Al Jazeera TV, Feburary 21, 2006