For the past several years, I have blogged on a car care forum www.autocareforum.com. One of the frequent posters has used a very interesting promotion to drive business at his car wash; Oprah for President. I think I'll begin a series on this to examine her credentials, potential and possibilities. More below the fold.
He wrote his book "Oprah for President, Run Oprah run", as an investigative means to examine her potential. This also served to promote his car wash through T-Shirt give aways, buttons and a letter writing campaign. His recent work; "Oprah for President" is presently getting a lot of media attention and something KOSSACKS need to be involved with. So I wanted to begin this diary with an introduction to Patrick Crowe and his mission to spread the word, "Oprah for President". Oprah for President - 2008
from his web site:
At this stage of development, the plan is simple. The most important task is to convince Oprah herself that the run is worth the trouble. Mr. Crowe, as outlined in his book, believes that if each of us writes a heartfelt letter to Oprah telling her why we personally want her to be president, then she will relent from her current denail of interest. We feel that other steps will help as well. Toward that end, we propose:
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL we have on the Net at the moment is word-of-mouth. Lacking the formally announced candidacy of Ms. Winfrey, the best way we can convince her that it is time to run is the united voice of thousands of people willing to work toward that end, both by writing letters and spreading the word. So, tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your customers, co-workers, colleagues...tell EVERYONE you encounter. If you pruchase one of our Oprah for President t-shirts, you can become a wlaking billboard. Before this draft effort can break-out into the mainstream media...who are still in control...we have to create a mighty "buzz" of conversation and discussion of the possible Oprah candidacy. Spread the word.
Note: This has already started, but the offline media can not be trusted to do anything positive for our effort. We still need to harness the Power of the Net.
If you haven't already, become a volunteer in the Oprah for President campaign. We need many people to fill decentralized leadership positions as well as specific types of labor, like publicity, writing, research, fundraising, etc. All volunteers should take part in recruiting others.
Note: In 2000 we suggested that Oprah run as a Reform Party Candidate, since Ross Perot had already satisfied the ballot placement requirements. This is will probably not be true in 2008, so we may also need volunteers to get ballot petitions signed.
The Internet is going to be the force that binds us all together. If you have not already done so, go to our sign up form and register as a volunteer. Also, tell as many of your friends and acquaintances as you can to do the same. We would like to have one thousand volunteers, covering all fifty states, signed up by January 1st, 2006. We believe that this will be sufficient evidence of grassroots support to convince even the most skeptical that Oprah is a viable candidate for president. The Net can unite us and keep us united. Once you have signed up, you will be sent a letter of introduction. This letter will be followed by many others, on a regular basis, so that you can keep in constant touch with how the effort is going. Within a few weeks, we will start sending specific "marching orders" depending upon your geographical location. This is because the political needs differ from state to state, district to district. Oprah volunteers can and should assist these efforts any way we can. Also, take a moment to post a comment on our bulletin board. We want and need it to become a place where people can argue, cuss and holler about what is being done. Right now, a few of us are providing all the ideas for moving forward. YOU need to become part of that process.
Note: When organizing begins to gather steam, the main stream media will treat it as a joke. DO NOT BE TAKEN IN BY THIS! We are certain that there is enormous support for an Oprah candidacy out there. Everything we have seen in 2000 and 2005 supports this conclusion.
Finally, by all means write a letter to Oprah herself, telling her why you want her to run...and WIN! Patrick Crowe has hit on a perfect method to convince her to do so. It is up to us to see that her mailbox is filled with our pleas from now until election day 2008.
Please note that the above is simply "a" plan. Events can and, we suspect, will alter this plan significantly. We intend to pursue this plan as faithfully as we can and to advise you how things are going as time goes on. But, in the real world of politics, things can happen very rapidly. Already, the "buzz" of a potential Oprah candidacy has seeped into the "real" world. But, our main tool remains the Internet. We intend to use it to the fullest and hope you assist us.
Now the media has begun to pick up the story:ABC News: Oprah for President? How About Paris Hilton? and tomorrow in Detroit Pat will do two radio interviews. Pat has published 5 books in the past, several on car washing. Let's help make this one a success.
So weigh in here, what do you think? Oprah for President?