When Jon Stewart had Barack Obama on his show in November 2005, Stewart asked about Obama's colleagues in the Senate: "Is there somebody who you just thinkk 'Man, that guy, he can't even read.'" Obama replied: "There are a couple guys where you do sort of think: How did you get here exactly?" Comedy Central photo.
by Mike Dorning
Barack Obama isn't waiting for his appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" next Wednesday to use the invitation as a chance to expand his following.
Campaign manager David Plouffe sent out an e-mail to Obama supporters just a few minutes ago offering an all-expenses-paid trip to the popular comedy show's taping as a prize in a contest to recruit new donors to the campaign.
In a twist on the kind of recruiting promotions regularly empoyed by health clubs, anyone who recruits a new donor by the end of the week will be entered in a drawing for a pair of tickets to the shows taping: one for the supporter who recruits the new donor and one for the donor he or she recruits.
It's the latest example of the kind of mass-marketing fundraising incentives in the current presidential campaign that has candidates' appeals for donations sometimes reading like they might have come from Ed McMahon of Publishers Clearinghouse.
As the campaigns raced for dollars just before the end of their quarterly fundraising periods on June 30, Republican Mitt Romney was offering anyone who contributed $100 or more a chance to win box seats at a major league baseball game hosted by the candidate's son, Tagg Romney. Democrat John Edwards celebrated his June 10 birthday by offering his mother's pecan pie recipe to anyone who contributed at least $6.10.
But Obama has been the most aggressive in deploying incentives to rally low-dollar donors. In June, the campaign offered a chance at an all-expenses trip to have dinner with the candidate himself to four winning donors, no matter how small their contribution. And the campaign just completed a repeat of the contest, with Obama soon to host a second dinner for low-dollar donors.
With widespread access to the Internet lowering the cost of contacting potential supporters to virtually nothing and reducing the hassle of donating to a few keystrokes, look for more such promotions arriving to inboxes across America as the political season continues.
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Comments
I wonder if one of those guys Obama wonders about is Dick Durbin? I know I wonder about him.
Posted by: Dave | August 16, 2007 5:40 PM
Dave, you have to be kidding. Durbin is one of the smartest - and maybe the most honest - politician I've seen. He's the one that should be president.
Posted by: Tom | August 16, 2007 6:26 PM
"Is there somebody who you just thinkk 'Man, that guy, he can't even read.'"
But over time he got to appreciate Senator Kennedy.
Posted by: Terry | August 16, 2007 10:16 PM
Obama's campaign sends an email to his "supporters", and a "few minutes" later reporter Mike Dorning (a "supporter"?) gives it free publicity on the Swamp.
You can't get better or faster PR service than what Swamp reporters give Mr. Obama!
Posted by: Bruce | August 16, 2007 11:40 PM
Tom,
Dick "Turban" Durbin called our soldiers at Gitmo the same as Pol Pot,The Nazis and The Soviet Gulags.
...You need to move out of mommy's basement and get a life.....Dick *Turban* Durbin as President?
PaLeeeze!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | August 17, 2007 1:46 AM
Bruce, chill. It's not every day Chicago has a serious contender for president. You can't blame the local press for following closely. It's kind of their job.
Funny how you get anti-Obama (and anti- every Dem) comments within seconds of every story. Almost as if it were someone's job...
Smear and fear, what would the GOP be without 'em?
Posted by: Steve | August 17, 2007 10:26 AM
Hey Paulo, YOU need to provide PROOF that the Hillary for President campaign staff was behind the "Obama went to a madrassa school" smear published by far rightwing Insight Magazine back in February. Since they've never provided any PROOF to their fake allegation, I don't expect you to apologize for repeating that lie here in The Swamp. But we can always hope that you'll grow up and become a mature adult someday.
Posted by: BC | August 17, 2007 11:09 AM
Paulo-Turn off the talk radio and get in step with the real world.
Posted by: Rush | August 17, 2007 11:48 AM
What's most disturbing is how Obama is above reproach. It's become almost blasphemy to criticize him in anyway. Kudos to John Stewart for pointing this out in his comedy routine, but he'll probably catch flack for that, just like the rest of us. It's as if Obama has been packaged and sold to us as some kind of diety, when he's nothing more than a junior senator, with a thin resume, who voted present a hundred times at his job.
Posted by: Gina | June 27, 2008 1:14 PM