Obama Viral Email Project - Draft 3

This is the second diary in a series that comprise the Obama Viral Email Project. Prior diaries may be found here:
Obama Viral Email Project - Draft 1
Obama Viral Email Project - Draft 2

This project grew out of a desire to do something positive for the Obama campaign, utilizing the Net roots and viral Internet marketing concepts.

To review:

The Concept

We, as a community, will compose a counter to the anti-Obama viral emails. It will contain the truth, and when we are done, we will each email it to everyone possible in our address book. We will spread it to other boards, our own personal blogs, social networking sites, and in general make this email ubiquitous throughout the net. It will also contain a plea to the sender to pass on the email, hopefully making this positive Obama virus dwarf the poorly done negative attempts that are out there.

I envision the initial authoring phase of this project to take about a week, with several draft revisions. So on or about next Friday, March 14, I hope we will have an email ready to blast. It will be important to keep the project visible, so please, if you believe the OVEP to be a worthy undertaking, recommend this diary and the others that will follow with each draft, so that we can get as much input as possible.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT DISTRIBUTION ISSUES AT THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT! We are only concerned with content at this point. After we compose the email,we will discuss distribution.

The Rules

More like suggestions really, and there aren't many.

1. I volunteered to use my daily diary allotment for this project and to head it up. I envision that invariably we will have differences of opinion about what should be included in the email, how it should be worded, etc. Thus we need an executive editor for the project, who will make the final decision in cases of disagreement. This morning I held a caucus in my kitchen (because it was cheaper than a primary) and elected myself editor.

2. The email needs to be positive and it won't do to draw attention to lies that the reader may never have heard before (thus accomplishing the goals of the anti-Obama email for them). So for example, instead of saying "Barack Obama is NOT a Muslim!", in which case the reader may say "Huh! Was there a question about him being a Muslim?", the better approach is probably, "Barack Obama is a devout Christian, who has been a member of the same Christian church for about 20 years."

3. In case it's not obvious, the idea is for the community to contribute ideas for the letter in the form of comments, and then I'll incorporate these into the next draft diary.

4. This really is an attempt to do something positive, so if you want to start a candidate war or some such, please go elsewhere.

5. Please provide links to backup your points. It is not only important that these be verifiable truths, but that the end reader have a quick way to check them out.

6. We may include a few pictures (small, screen resolution), but keep in mind that the end email should not be more than a few pages long and shouldn't tie up limited dialup bandwidth for those users (thus ticking them off). If we find we can't contain the email to a small number of pages, maybe we'll break it up into multiple emails.

7. Keep it to an eighth grade level. Remember how wide and diverse the audience is.

That's it! At least for now.

Below is the current draft as it stands.

The Current Draft Email

Subject: The Truth About Barack Obama! As enthusiastic volunteers in the Barack Obama campaign for the Presidency, we have put together a list of facts about Barack so that you will know the truth about him. Please follow the links we have included which provide documentation of these facts. If you value the truth, as we do, please forward this email to everyone you know.

1. Did you know that Barack Obama is a devout Christian? He has been a member of the same United Church of Christ congregation for 20 years, and was married there to his wife Michelle in 1992.
2. Did you know that Barack Obama is a strong friend of Israel and has spoken out strongly against anti-semitism?
3. Did you know his grandparents from Kansas were part of the "Greatest Generation?. His grandfather served with Patton's Army during World Warr II, and his grandmother, a real "Rosy the Riveter", worked in a bomber assembly plant back home.
4. Did you know that Barack Obama often leads the US Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance?
5. Did you know Obama favors transparency over secrecy in our government? He's released his tax returns from 2006. Did you know that Obama worked with Republican Sen. Colburn to pass one of the strongest government transparency bills since the freedom of information act. He's calling it Google for Government and you can see the result at www.fedspending.org.
6. Did you know that Barack Obama was opposed to the war in Iraq from day one, before we invaded? Even while he was running for the Senate and such opposition might have been politically unpopular?

   "I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world and strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars." --Barack Obama, 2002

7. Did you know that Senator Obama has grown so fond of his Secret Service detail, that he invited them to his home to watch the SuperBowl and plays basketball with them before primaries?
8. Did you know that despite the grueling schedule of running for President, Senator Obama remains a devoted family man, making time to do things like pick out a Christmas tree with his wife and two young daughters, or hurrying home to spend Valentine's Day with them? Did you know he hasn't missed a single parent-teacher conference while running for President?
9. Did you know that Barack Obama has been an elected legislator longer than Senator Clinton?
10. Did you know that Barack Obama has co-sponsored a bill increase child support enforcement by helping governments collect a projected $13 billion in payments from those who don’t fulfill their parental responsibilities?
11. Did you know that after graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, Barack practiced civil rights law and also taught Constitutional Law for 10 years at one of the nation's best law schools, Chicago University, where he was consistantly rated by his students as one of their best instructors? He was the first African-American elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
12. Did you know that Barack is a member of all of these Senate Committees: Foreign Relations; Veteran's Affairs; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions; Homeland Security and Government Affairs?
13. Did you know that Barack Obama is an outspoken advocate of women's rights and has been a principled defender of the civil rights of women?
14. Did you know that Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005?
15. Did you know that Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate?
16. Did you know that Senator Obama sponsored legislation (together with Indiana Republican Richard Lugar) that keeps Americans safe by keeping dangerous weapons out of terrorist hands?
17. Did you know that Barack Obama has a stellar environmental record, including having the highest rating from the League of Conservation Voters (96%) of any Presidential candidate, Democrate or Republican?
18. Did you know that, if elected, Barack Obama would be the nations 6th youngest President behind Theodore Roosevelt (42 years old), John F. Kennedy (43 years old), Bill Clinton (46 years old), Ullysses S. Grant (46 years old), and Grover Cleveland (47 years old).
19. Did you know that, as an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama succeeded in passing legislation requiring the videotaping of police interrogations, gaining the respect and support not only of fellow legislators but that of the police, who had initially opposed the legislation?
20. Did you know that, as a US Senator, Barack Obama has gained the respect of Republicans such as Sen. Dick Lugar, who said of Obama, "He does have a sense of idealism and principled leadership, a vision of the future." Senator Lugar invited Senator Obama on a trip to the former Soviet Union, where they inspected projects to decommission Cold War-era weapons. The two ultimately worked together to pass legislation to control the spread of weapons.
21. Did you know that Barack Obama is the only candidate running for president who voted against using cluster bombs in Iraq and the only candidate who supports banning the use of landmines?

During election season many emails are circulated about the candidates. Some are true, some aren't. It's often difficult to determine the truth. We encourage you to visit the following non-partisan sites that do a good job of fact checking the candidates.

http://www.snopes.com/
http://www.factcheck.org/

First, thank you all so much for the great response to this project on Friday. I have read every one of the 455 comments several times. I think we just about have enough content at this point, though I'm certainly willing to look at additions.

At this point I'd like to focus on grammar, spelling, links, and order. I haven't had a chance to reorder the items, so they're still random. I did look at punctuation a bit. While we have lots of links, some of them might not be the best ones.

Several people argued for a big style changes. Some wanted a more tabloid feel. I felt that was inconsistent with "truth". Some wanted a "top 10 list format", but I thought the list too long for that. Several people argued for getting rid of the "Did you know" format in favor of a more declarative approach. I tried it, but in reading it to myself I found it more boring. I value those stylistic suggestions, but made the decision, at least for now, to keep it as is.

I don't guarantee I didn't miss anything major. There were 455 comments! So if you think I missed something major, please comment again and I'll try to respond either that yes, it should go in, or no, I decided against it and we can discuss my reasoning.

As you can see I incorporated a LOT of your suggestions. It took hours.

I've begun to think about the various formats for distribution, and I had a question. Does anyone know if it's possible to put html in a DKos diary without it being interpreted? In other words, is there a way to put the html version of the email into a diary in a form that could be copied and pasted?

I'd say that's probably enough for now. I'm thinking now that it won't take until my original Friday date to get this done. We're getting close. Have at it Kossacks! Comment with your changes and suggestions, spelling and grammar mistakes, suggested orderings, format tips, and whatever else you'd like.

•  Tips, for persistence! (And please rec.)

  by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:04:11 PM PDT

  •  Great job!! Kudos to you!!

    by cfk on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:06:08 PM PDT

  •  This doesn't feel "viral" to me

    I appreciate your work, and I get your point about truth, but I still believe the earnest tone and amount of information here is going to appeal to college-educated voters, who are already Obama's demographic, rather than low-information voters.  To reach the "eighth grade reading level" demographic you mention, it needs to be shorter and more attention-grabbing.  In other words, I can't see your target audience lapping this up the way they do the anti-Obama stuff.

    What about at least including some pictures?  Visuals would help.

    by Contrafibularities on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:24:31 PM PDT

    •  I kind of feel like the tone and structure

      are fine. It's just too long. That's what's keeping me from feeling like it's "viral."

      by vancookie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:31:42 PM PDT

      •  Shorten and add a couple of photos.

        Fun stuff like Obama and his daughter in the bumper car, O playing basketball and something happy from the campaign trail (Obama and baby like that great photo from slim's diary yesterday). Start with a patriotic photo with hand on heart pledging allegiance.

        by speck tater on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:35:55 PM PDT

        •  Add pic of Obama saying pledge

          I've talked to several people waffling, both D and R. The first, and often only, hangup they have is the not putting his hand on his heart while saying the pledge thing. A great pic is better than all the links in the world.

          I also agree on shortening it up--remember the audience! You might want to have 3-4 emails available to counter different topics instead of just one long one.

          by infojunkie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:03:59 PM PDT

          •  Anybody got a link to that photo?

            by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:55:31 PM PDT

            •  Here's a link

              Here's a link to a Wash Post article debunking the pledge story. It includes two photos.

              Wash Post article

              by infojunkie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:51:11 PM PDT

      •  That could well be. I have to take a look at that

        by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:54:24 PM PDT

    •  It is too long

      If the goal is to have someone with an eighth grade reading level understand the info, you also have to take into consideration the attention span of that person.  Maybe you should break the document into 2 mailings.

      I also think the tone is better if it reads "Do you know..."

      by Little Flower on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:50:01 PM PDT

      •  Yes make shorter easier to read & add picture

        1.) Obama is a Christian
        Obama has attended the same United Church for 20 years, and was married there to his wife Michelle in 1992.

        2.) Obama is a strong friend of Israel
        Obama has spoken out strongly against anti-semitism?

        Great idea though I will keep my eye on this project.

        Suggestions:

        Obama won Texas!

        Obama is the front runner
        He is in the lead in delegates, votes and states won.

        Obama is a Constitutional Lawyer!
        Flag pin patriots are working day and night to undermine our hard fought rights. When Barack Obama puts his hand on the bible and pledges to protect and defend the Constitution he will mean it.

        by Duke S on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:07:49 PM PDT

    •  You could be right, but

      let's try this tack first. If not we can always try to "tabloid it up".

      I think that the reason the anti-Obama emails go viral is not because they're poorly written tabloid crap. Far from it. I think they go viral because so many anti-Obama people want to mislead people, so it becomes a big pyramid scheme.

      There's a huge number of Obama supporters, most of which are pissed off by one or more emails they've received. They would just love to forward a counter-email to everyone they can, but nobody wants to go through all the research and work of creating one. Our advantage is that we can do it as a group for free (and pretty much have). My theory is that if we present this to as many Obama supporters as possible, they will in turn spread it to the rest of the world.

      Anyway, that's my theory.

      by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:53:54 PM PDT

  •  How about...

    ...a viral Widget project?

    Widgets can be placed on any blog or web page by just clicking the "Get & Share" button at the bottom.

    by KingOneEye on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:45:09 PM PDT

    •  OK. I got that yesterday!

      And as long as there's not any secret malware there I'll be adding it to my web sites, but it really isn't related now is it?

      by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:56:50 PM PDT

      •  It's related to viral media.

        It's the same as the email campaign except that it remains live on the net long after an email has been read and discarded.

        Sorry if you think I am hijacking your thread. That was not my intent. I just want people to know about some of the many ways there are to distribute these messages.

        btw, It's entirely safe. I am the designer and it's on my site, News Corpse, and more than 50 others (so far).

        by KingOneEye on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:26:28 PM PDT

        •  I don't think you're doing anything wrong,

          but I can't put it in the email can I?

          by Travis Stark on Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 12:43:46 PM PDT

  •  Tip'd and Rec'd. thank you SO much

    this is a great idea and reflects a lot of effort.  I can see where this will be very useful.  

    Who is the chair of Obama's PA campaign?  hopefully they have an email list of registered democrats they can send this to before early voting starts.

    maybe they can send between now and March 24 to Indpendents and NPAs to convince them to change their registration to DEM specifically to vote for Obama in the primary (last date to change registration is Mar 24).

    by Wanda517 on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:11:26 PM PDT

    •  I actually think it's probably better to have

      plausible deniability from the campaign's standpoint. Individuals within the campaign could certainly forward it. Even officials of the campaign. But I don't really want to have a formal connection. Know what I mean? One of our advantages is we're a totally grass roots effort.

      I don't know. Maybe I'm paranoid.

      by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:59:13 PM PDT

•  I recently responded to an anti-obama

  viral email that my mom sent me. It was sent to her by one of her friends who sent it to everyone that's in her address book. I save all the emails and will be sending this as well. Sorry mom.

  by psilocynic on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:13:53 PM PDT

•  Correction to #11

  I have never heard the University of Chicago called "Chicago University."

  I'd recommend making that change for the sake of clarity.

  by projectmayhem325 on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:16:54 PM PDT

  •  Just fixed it in the next version. Thanks!

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:59:49 PM PDT

•  Merge the Lugar comments.

  You probably want to merge 16 and 20.

  by Shakludanto on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:21:04 PM PDT

  •  Other comments:

    7 is particularly weak. What are you trying to say that he plays basketball with Secret Service guys. So?

    18 is not that great either. I realize you're trying to frame the negative ("He's too young!) with a positive spin, but it's still not working for me. Maybe remove the ages of the ex-presidents, because that really cuts into the flow of the sentence.

    14 and 15 could be merged into one talking point, because they are so closely related.

    Thanks for doing this!

    by Shakludanto on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:30:11 PM PDT

  •  Probably right. Especially if I'm trying to

    shorten it up a bit.

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:00:50 PM PDT

•  I'm so glad you kept the "Did you know"

  structure. I think it's a good hook, and it just sounds like one of those emails that gets passed around.

  I think the list is a bit too long. I would definitely combine #14 & 15, and also #16 and 20. I would consider dropping #19 and #21. They're interesting, but their really policy-wonky. So specific, about issues that are not necessarily on the minds of the general public.

  One last thought: would it be worth noting in the intro paragraph or the closing paragraph a link to the issues page of his website? This email is pretty much about his experience, about who he is as a person, but it only touches on specific issues (specifically those that have been the subject of the lies and smear campaigns against him). So it might be a good idea to let people know where to go to get more specific info on issues.

  Sorry, I know you were looking for wording & punctuation changes etc, but I couldn't help throwing out these few ideas about content. I think the structure, wording, punctuation, etc all seem really good.

  Good work on this. Rec'd.

  by vancookie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:23:35 PM PDT

  •  No. This is great input! Thank you. n/t

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:02:22 PM PDT

•  Great work!

  Great job!!!!!!!

  This is going to be amazing.  

  Here's some of the grammar stuff you asked for.

  #3 - "World Warr II" has too many r's.
  #6 - has "Even while he was running for the Senate and such opposition might have been politically unpopular?" The "even" should not be capitalized and it should be made part of the previous sentence, or you should make it a complete sentence (by starting it with something like - He did this even while he was running for the Senate when such...
  #11 - "consistantly" should be "consistently"
  #18 - needs a question mark at the end

  by diegobnavarro on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:23:36 PM PDT

  •  Another typo

    Barack Obama has co-sponsored a bill increase child support

    Needs to be "...a bill to increase...."

    by Catte Nappe on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:50:53 PM PDT

    •  comma error

      #3 Commas always go inside quotation marks.

      Riveter,"

      by infojunkie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:08:59 PM PDT

      •  Is this true even in the case of quotation

        for emphasis? This is a serious question I have. It's one of those things that I never learned the first time around and have been trying to get the hang of in my writing. I do always put the comma inside the quote when the quote is actually a quote, but not necessarily when the quotation marks are used for emphasis. For example:

        He frequently used terms like "snark", "troll", or "blog".

        Should the commas be inside the quotes?

        (As for other things I never learned the first time around, I type over 50 or 60 words per minute, but I was absent on the day in typing class when we did numbers, so when I come to a number, my typing grinds to a halt. :-) )

        by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:09:07 PM PDT

        •  Commas and periods ALWAYS go inside quote marks

          Commas and periods ALWAYS go inside quotation marks, but exclamation and question marks depend on the content.

          by infojunkie on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:30:00 PM PDT

          •  Yes, though this is one of my biggest

            pet peeves about the English language.

            ~Doc~

            by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:51:18 PM PDT

•  My tip to you...

  I like the idea...but I think it will be steamrolled today.  Hot news day.

  However, I would say that next time the poll should be asking how many people have actually sent this out.

  by The BBQ Chicken Madness on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:25:43 PM PDT

  •  Hopefully few have

    I think the plan was to really refine, polish and document before sending it anywhere.

    by Catte Nappe on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:51:32 PM PDT

  •  Hopefully no one yet.

    But we're getting close.

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:11:08 PM PDT

•  Viral Evil Is Sinful

  And if you start it you belong in hell.  I don't care if the content is true or false, if it's for a politician I love or I hate.

  Once you send it out there it will be changed as many times as its forwarded, and even if it's only moderately successful it will still be a huge waste of resources for it to float around for the next hundred years.

  by TooFolkGR on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:25:45 PM PDT

  •  I agree, but...

    It could be a valuable resource to reply back with, when we inevitably get one of those, "Barack is a Muslim; pass it on." emails. (I've already recieved one, and I'm sure many of you have.)

    Do not put the phrase "Forward this to everyone." because that is evil. Those things go on forever. However, sending people good information (who have stupidly sent out vitriolic rumormongering) really need to see stuff like this. When you respond to that kind of attack, remember to "Reply to All" to help snuff out the evil viral email.

    by Shakludanto on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:55:45 PM PDT

  •  Actually, this is what Web 2.0 is all about

    I'm not talking about spam here, and I'm one of those people for whom 99.99% of the time, if you send me a chain letter email you can be sure it dies with me. I will be sending this email to those in my address book who I don't think will mind getting it and I would recommend others do the same.

    We'll also be spreading this truth through web sites, social networking sites, and a dozen other venues. I'd even encourage someone to read this in front of a camera and do a you tube video when we're done. Maybe with a different funny costume or pose for every point.

    There's noting evil about this IMHO. I'm sorry you think otherwise.

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:20:54 PM PDT

•  Looking great! Editorial Suggestions:

  Capitalize "Semitism"

  Did you know that Barack Obama is a strong friend of Israel and has spoken out strongly against anti-Semitism

  Did you know THAT his grandparents WERE from Kansas AND were part of the "Greatest Generation? (omit period here) His grandfather served with Patton's Army during World WAR (not 2 r’s) II, and his grandmother, a real "Rosy the Riveter", worked in a bomber assembly plant back home? (add question mark)

  ...Obama worked with Republican Sen. Colburn to pass one of the strongest government transparency bills since the Freedom of Information Act

  (capitalize FOIA and add question mark)

  Did you know that Barack Obama has co-sponsored a bill TO increase child support enforcement by helping governments collect a projected $13 billion in payments from those who don’t fulfill their parental responsibilities?

  Did you know that after graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, Barack practiced civil rights law and also taught Constitutional Law for 10 years at one of the nation's best law schools, Chicago University, where he was (SPELL consistently with an e) consistantly rated by his students as one of their best instructors? He was the first African-American elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
  Did you know that Barack Obama is an outspoken advocate of (USE ‘FOR’ instead of ‘of’) women's rights

  MOVE THIS UP

  Did you know that Senator Obama sponsored legislation (together with Indiana Republican Richard Lugar) that keeps Americans safe by keeping dangerous weapons out of terrorist hands?

  Did you know that Barack Obama has a stellar environmental record, including having the highest rating from the League of Conservation Voters (96%) of any Presidential candidate, Democrate (DEMOCRAT) or Republican?

  Ulysses S. Grant NOT ULLYSSES (one L)

  Did you know that, as a US Senator, Barack Obama has gained the respect of Republicans such as Sen. Dick Lugar, who said of Obama, "He does have a sense of idealism and principled leadership, a vision of the future."

  (ADD A PERIOD, NOT A COMMA)

  by speck tater on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:29:08 PM PDT

  •  thank you

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:23:27 PM PDT

•  A few minor changes I suggest.

  I submit them humbly for your consideration.  Thanks so much for doing this!

  The first three are stylistic:

  In #5, put the sentence about Obama's tax returns at the end of the statement, after the stuff about his work on transparency.  The stuff about releasing his tax returns supports his advocacy for transparency, but transparency is the main point.

  In #6, change "such support" to "this support" or "his support" to read better.

  Combine # 14 and 15.  We care a lot about legislative achievements, the general public not so much.  We do need to counter the 'no experience' line, but we can do that better with only one statement about the bills Obama sponsored and amended.  

  Finally, I recommend shortening the list.  People are likely to skip it if it's too long.  I suggest first dropping the points that don't directly refute the crazy "Obama-is-Muslim" emails and the ones that don't immediately appeal to general election voters, like #10 and #21 (not that these aren't great achievements / causes though).

  by LeftyEngineer on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 01:56:49 PM PDT

•  I think the link to the United Church of Christ

  should link to the "about" (http://www.ucc.org/about-us/) page instead of the one it links to which wants you to download a toolbar to use on the site. It takes two clicks to find out what the church is about.

  by hsvscg on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:00:49 PM PDT

  •  I tried to find a page that stressed

    inclusiveness. I didn't have to download a toolbar at all, but I'll check it out. You're right that we definitely don't want that. Wish their web site was a little less flashy.

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:25:26 PM PDT

•  Also,

  I love the "Did you know" style, and I like #7 about playing basketball.  

  I think you probably ought to drop #18 about potentially being the youngest president though.  It plays too quickly into the "no experience" spin.

  Thanks again!

  by LeftyEngineer on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:01:15 PM PDT

  •  How about "Great Presidents who were Under 50...

    at inaguration.. then list them with their ages.. and then just give the age Obama will be at inaguration?

    by Wanda517 on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:13:58 PM PDT

•  Recommendations on #21

  I do think this one is important (and not just because I recommended it) because it undercuts HRC's position as an advocate for children, which is why I'd also like to see it moved to follow up on the point about child support. But I also want to make the wording stronger.  I know we're getting a long list here, and you're going to have to make tough choices, but I will tell you that as a woman, I was kind of stunned that Hillary voted against this amendment.  It's damned hard to defend from a woman who advocates so strongly for children. Or maybe it's just U.S. children she cares about.

  "Did you know that Barack Obama is the only candidate who voted for Senate Amendment No. 4882 that called for banning the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas, which advocates for banning landmines considered an important step toward moving the U.S. to sign the 1997 Mine Ban along with over 150 nations that have already signed.

  by txdemfem on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:11:26 PM PDT

•  Wow. Really bad timing today. Sorry.

  I posted the diary, went to the grocery store, came back, and we'd already scrolled off the list. I'll repost tomorrow with mods if necessary as an update.

  by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:28:29 PM PDT

•  My experience yesterday with my stepmother.

  Went to visit my Dad yesterday and update the OS on his computer. While I was there we got into the usual political discussion. My Dad being a Republican who can't admit electing Dubya was a mistake and his wife being a little more reasonable but still a Republican.

  He's voting for McCain. No surprise there. But her reaction to Obama was telling.

  "He scares me."
  "Well, what about him scares you?"
  [Hems and haws.]
  "It's that he's a Muslim."
  "But he isn't a Muslim! He's been a member of the same Christian church for 20 years."
  "I know he says that, but I'm still afraid he's really a Muslim."

  Yikes. (Or as Margaret Carlson would say, "Jinkies!")

  by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 02:33:50 PM PDT

  •  I would have said...

    Now that you mention it, I've had my concerns about dad for several years now... ;)

    ~Doc~

    by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:41:42 PM PDT

•  Have poll to choose the statements

  Perhaps you should market test your statement selections by running a poll tomorrow. Give the crowd a more specific task of choosing the most salient talking points.

  by Duke S on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:11:32 PM PDT

  •  Not sure it'd work as a poll

    Love the idea, but everybody would pick their top pick, and we'd probably agree within say five items what the most important were, and then there wouldn't be a mechanism to order them from there.

    But maybe I could run one for a particular set of items that aren't easy to order. Sometimes I wish Kos would allow multiple polls in a diary.

    by Travis Stark on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:29:05 PM PDT

    •  You could do it in blocks then...

      First poll which ones are most important, that should boil it down to how to order the first five or so.

      Then the day after that you could do it again with the remaining 15 or so, and among those 15 or so there would be more of a spread, and those few that received no votes could then be the last few in any order.

      ~Doc~

      by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:46:18 PM PDT

    •  I would probably work because

      you would take the top five or so. Individuals votes would be overwhelmed by the crowd.

      by Duke S on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 05:20:19 PM PDT

•  Suggestion for #3...

  In "worked in a bomber assembly plant back home" can we find out what town or city? Then we could say, "worked in a bomber assembly plant back home in CITY".

  The more specifics, the better.

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:27:33 PM PDT

•  Type on #5...

  Did you know that Obama worked with Republican Sen. Colburn to pass one of the strongest government transparency bills since the freedom of information act.

  This sentence should end in a question mark, not a period.

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:28:55 PM PDT

•  Grammar in #10...

  In "Did you know that Barack Obama has co-sponsored a bill increase child support..." there should be a "to" in-between "a bill" and "increase". That is, change to "Did you know that Barack Obama has co-sponsored a bill to increase child support..."

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:31:22 PM PDT

•  Chicago University in #11...

  There is no such thing as "Chicago University", the proper name is "University of Chicago".

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:34:29 PM PDT

•  LAW in #14...

  I see no reason to put LAW in all caps in #14.

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:35:22 PM PDT

•  OK all the rest of my suggestions in one comment.

  Item #18: In "...Barack Obama would be the nations 6th youngest President behind..." change "nations" to "nation's".

  Item #20: The first sentence is a question and needs to end in a question mark.

  Item #20: Also, the last two sentences could be combined into "Senator Lugar invited Senator Obama on a trip to the former Soviet Union, where they inspected projects to decommission Cold War-era weapons, and the two ultimately worked together to pass legislation to control the spread of weapons."

  ~Doc~

  by EquationDoc on Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 03:40:26 PM PDT

•  Great follow-up! Looking to tommrrow's

  Item #18:

  I would rather it read: Did you know that, on inauguration, Barack Obama at 47 years "x" months would be older than....

  I prefer not to put Barack Obama and "youngest" next to each other.... "Older" may work better in this context.

  by magatte on Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 11:46:28 AM PDT

•  It's too long

  WAY TOO LONG.

  Cut out 5 things.  This is an ADD nation.

  by glutz78 on Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 06:58:05 AM PDT