I worry all this "it's about YOU" might create a backlash! I mean, do we trust the "you-ness" expressed by Democratic candidates?

That Hillary video was so slick, so cosy- I felt like I was watching the Oprah show, not getting involved in a national political raceabout the future of the free world!

Same for Edwards, and Obama. Do you think when/if McCain and his team announce they will be quite so cozy?

Although it's certainly not up to BlogHer to provide this information, it might be helpful to ask members what their key issues are (ranked in order of priority) and provide voting records for each candidate (from all parties) on those issues. It would be exciting to have a live, online BlogHer candidate forum in '08.

Just watched the Hillary video. Having once been in infomercial production, that's exactly what it reminded me of. I'd already seen the Edwards and Obama videos--didn't get the same feel from those, even though they were probably just as coached.

Great Post Lisa....

Agree with the need to make the video YouTube compliant and the face that the whole thing is a little too slick...a case of an ad agency production vision of cozy social media.

Marianne Richmond
resonancepartnership

I'd like to know what MoveOn.org thinks their failures and/or shortcomings were in influencing the outcome of the last presidential race. They were connected directly with the wired voter but often, I fear that our easy access makes us assume we are the majority, when we're not.

Making this election about the voter means, in my naive eyes, focusing the candidates on stating deliverable, actionable plans for the issues on the table - for women, yes, but for all Americans. Why did Hilary's health care plan fail during the Clinton administration and what is she going to do to make sure we get one? Obama's anti-war status may be attractive, but it's also irrelevant seeing as how there IS a war - what's his plan to get us out of it?

How can BlogHer act on refining that focus? I'd like to see if that's something we can't learn from other organizations who have committed in the past to amplifying the voice of the vote.

Nerd's Eye View

Even though I am not an American, like many others around the world, I am nevertheless watching the 2008 election developments with much interest and trepidation. Having witnessed the terrible and terrifying last two elections, I can only applaud any effort BlogHer will make to encourage an active and fair election. My greatest hope is that you and your editors will not be drawn into discussing the mass media’s slick and superfluous reporting of the elections: instead take a more grassroots approach. If given a choice, I would be very interested to read articles concerned the following four areas:

Clarity of community, regional, national and international issues from party/candidate to your readers (voters): not by discussing subjects drawn from speech rhetoric, but through concrete analysis of politicians’ voting history on State and national committees, or by looking at any innovative programs dealing with environmental, social, educational, or health issues in each of the candidates States.

Encouraging and promoting access for your readers to express their concerns about important issues directly to their party of choice or state or presidential candidates: don’t let the campaign analysts decide the issues of the election, let the citizens do this.

Give information about how your readers can help to get people out voting: it really seems as though every voter should make it a goal to find at least one non-voter and bring them to the polls. You could show them how to do this.

Show your readers how they can get actively involved in the election: from community polling to party volunteering, there is always some work to do for idle hands or generous spirit.

The last item I’d like to point out is something you can do as BlogHer editors is to give advice to the various candidates about their blogs. These blogs should deal with concrete issues and transparency of government (e.g. Mr. Obama podcasts) and not just another platform for self-promotion (e.g. Edwards).

lia from luebeck, germany

Author of the media safe 101 page on the Red Tent Blog and the personal yum yum cafe

I'd like to see a constant reminder of voting records, bills introduced, and past action that indicates where a candidate will go in the future. When the election gets heated and the candidates are busy trying to one-up or sling mud, it's good to concentrate on the facts rather than the advertising.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

Hillary Clinton Runs for President Supporting Non Traditional Careers for Women

This is a bit off topic for Ask Patty, however the news of a Hillary Clinton running for President in 2008 was just irresistible to comment about.

Interesting to me is that Hillary Clinton supports programs for non-traditional careers for women. She has worked to expand opportunities for women to enter non-traditional occupations, such as automotive technician, carpenter, electrician, or police officer. Women are still significantly underrepresented in these fields, yet these jobs often pay very well and include benefits like health insurance and pensions. She has worked to improve the federal vocational education program by providing incentives for states to help girls and women enter and succeed in non-traditional fields. She also introduced a Senate Resolution honoring women in the trades.

There is a woman chancellor in Germany, a woman president in Liberia and also in Chile, but when it comes to the United States, the only female Commander in Chief is the one Gina Davis played on television.

A 2006 CBS News/New York Times poll finds that 92 percent of all Americans say they would vote for a woman if she were qualified, up from just about half in the 1950s.

Is the American public ready for a woman president of the United States?

Hillary Clinton is not the first woman candidate to run for the office of President. This is the ninth attempt for a woman to run for President of the United States, beginning in 1872:

Women have always had a tough time in American politics. In 1872, when Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for president, women did not even have the right to vote in federal elections. They didn't get it until 1920.

Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, publisher, and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, ran for president of the United States in 1872 on the Equal Rights Party ticket. Belva Lockwood, the first woman admitted to practice law before the U.S Supreme Court ran for president on the same party's ticket in 1884 and 1888.

Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (ME) became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for president at a major party convention when Sen. George Aiken nominated her at the 1964 Republican
national convention. Smith – also the first woman to serve in both the House and Senate – had campaigned briefly for the post when the Senate was not in session.

In 1972, Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) ran for president in the Democratic primaries. At the party's national convention, she won 151.25 delegate votes before Sen. George McGovern clinched the nomination.

Frances (Sissy) Farenthold, a former Texas state legislator who twice ran for governor of that state, finished second in the balloting for the 1972 Democratic vice presidential nomination, receiving more than 400 votes.

Third-term Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-NY), secretary of the House Democratic Caucus, became the first woman ever to run on a major party's national ticket when she was selected by Walter F. Mondale as his Vice Presidential running mate in 1984.

Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) explored the idea of running for president in the 1988 election, but bowed out of the race after concluding that she could not overtake men who had been running and raising funds for months before her.

Elizabeth Dole, who had served as U.S. Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Federal Trade Commissioner, and president of the American Red Cross, ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. After failing to attract sufficient early support, she withdrew from the race. She now represents North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) is among ten Democrats seeking the 2004 presidential nomination. An attorney and one-term U.S. senator (1992-1998), Braun has also served as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, Illinois state representative, and Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

2006 - Senator Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947. She is the daughter of Dorothy Rodham and the late Hugh Rodham. Her father was a small businessman and her mother a homemaker. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. She is married to former President William Jefferson Clinton. They have one daughter, Chelsea.

Jody DeVere
President
AskPatty.com, Inc.

Good health care plans have always been a drawing card with me. Hillary had a good one back in '92 (or whenever it was), which got shot down quickly by the "men's club" she presented it to. Carol Moseley Braun had a great idea for a single-payer health care plan that nobody took the time time listen to. We need to make sure these ideas get heard and not outshouted by the people who want to keep health care as it is in the upcoming election.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

Yes, we need to focus on and figure out what the issues are that voters are concerned about, but I think the key in 2008 is going to be voter turnout --- women and all young adults.

Apparently, according to one study, the recent mid-term elections saw a significant increase in voter turnout in the 18 to 29 age range. If we can put our collective finger on what got them out from in front of their MySpace pages and to the polls, that's a pretty good start in the battle.

What is important enough to us to get us off our duffs and to the polls and, getting others there? I think that's the tough nut to crack. But I think if we put our heads together we can do that. In the last presidential election, the blogosphere was nothing compared to what it is today. There are so many of us out there with opinions we want to "talk" about, we need to find a way to harness that.

http://punditmom1.blogspot.com

Lisa, so glad BlogHer is getting things organized for the election. Great post -- and it's drawn out some great comments.

Couple things we might be able to do something about:

- Don't you think political bloggers in general so often write to please people who already hold opinions similar to the bloggers' own views? It only draws readers and commenters who either agree or have diametric opinions, and no minds are ever changed. I think that's why it's important, as you pointed out in your post, for non-political bloggers to talk politics.

- We could try to shape the way the mainstream media covers the election. I mean just pick at bits of conventional wisdom enough to start to warp it. Here's an example that's one of my pet peeves: somehow it's ALL-IMPORTANT not to "flip-flop." So legislators who voted for the Iraq war have to be crossexamined about that vote, and changes of heart are seen as a big big black mark. A countermeme could assert that flexibility in light of changing information and circumstances is a great trait for a leader -- and one that our president could have used.

I'm flattered that you excerpted from my blog (Jen's Green Journal) on your Hillary Election post.

It's also fun to find this woman-centered site!