Riding home over the Manhattan Bridge aboard the D train, for example, I received a phone call from the Obama campaign. Actually, it was comedian Chris Rock calling on behalf of Obama. Or, you know, a recording of Chris Rock. But still. “For the first time in my life, I’m inspired by a leader who puts principles ahead of polls and unites all of us around a common purpose,” he “told” me. “Whether you vote in every election or you’ve never voted before in your life, this Tuesday, vote for Barack Obama.” Okay, so it wasn’t exactly Rock hitting on Jacko. But I was impressed that the campaign found me. I never gave them my info. I don’t own a land line. And my cell phone actually has an out-of-state area code. Fifteen minutes later, I received a follow-up from a volunteer. According to the campaign, they’re targeting 500,000 to 600,000 New York state voters between the ages of 18 and 35. They found my roommate, too.
Clinton took a slightly different approach. Instead of finding me, she asked that I find her–on the obscure Hallmark channel, where she answered pre-screened questions from supporters in 21 states during an hour-long, low-budget “Voices Across America” townhall. On the whole, it was a substantive program, with Clinton reciting her positions on health care, gay marriage, education and jobs–sort of like an infomercial. But I couldn’t help thinking that Clinton’s strategy was a little behind the curve, especially compared to Obama’s. Obama: high-tech, proactive, personalized. Clinton: low-tech, passive, staged. I guarantee that most of my Brooklyn neighbors got calls from the Obama campaign–and exactly zero of them caught Clinton’s program, unless they were already Hillary supporters who knew to tune in. Or one of the seven people who happened to be watching “Walker, Texas Ranger” beforehand.
Of course, I’m not exactly in Clinton’s target demographic–a fact that really hit home at the end of tonight’s broadcast. Answering a question from Athens, Ga. about how she plans to “better manage and conserve water resources,” Clinton was saying something about “seeing… increasing scarcity… due to global warming” when her hour ran out.“I know this is an important issue,” she said, “and I will do everything in my power to put it on the national agenda as your–”
We will now return to our regularly scheduled programming, read a pink, full-screen announcement from the Hallmark Channel. Then a Christmas movie called “A Season for Miracles” starring Carla Gugino, Laura Dern and Lynn Redgrave started to play.
