Perlmutter at Texas Tech on Campaign 2008
I was part of an invited panel and spoke several times at meetings and classes at the College of Communications of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Our host was Professor Tom Johnson. The subject was media and campaign 2008--of course! The other panelists included Michael Xenos, Louisiana State University; Elizabeth A. Skewes, University of Colorado; and Richard Johnson, University of Pennsylvania.
Some of my points:
Barack Obama's victory was the result of the old and the new. Very effective traditional campaigning, ranging from getting out the vote to event organization to polling, were mixed with innovative use of new media, especially online social-interactive (OSIM) venues such as blogs, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and so on.
Barack Obama probably did not have a coattail influence on others running for office. The general Democratic Party brand was, in November, simply more popular than the Republican Party brand. But the massive publicity about Obama's OSIM efforts and successes affected and will continue to affect other campaigns for office. Simply put, every sheriff,...