John McCain was trained as a fighter pilot. Fighter pilot training is greatly influenced by John Boyd, who developed the OODA loop theory, which some say General Petraeus has adapted to the ground in Iraq, the real reason "the surge" appears successful. The OODA loop has been applied to business, computer security and now it appears that McCain is applying it to politics with some success. [more inside]
posted by jrishel on Sep 11, 2008 - 97 comments

Hey Meta,

Just saw a news report that you were on. Cool! Here is the link.

Best,

gnfti
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jul 11, 2008 - 62 comments

Like it or not, religion is at the forefront of the 2008 US Presidential elections. The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life previously cited in MeFi threads examines many of the current intersections of religion and politics, domestic and abroad.
posted by Rykey on Jun 10, 2008 - 31 comments

Want to live it up at the U.S. party conventions and get access to Senators and Congressmen? USA Today has posted the campaign committee price lists:
Democratic Senate and Congress
Republican Senate and Congress

If you've got the dough, you may conveniently request a convention package online from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the NRSC have other price lists on their sites, but it seems like the DSCC and DCCC sites keep theirs under wraps.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim on May 1, 2008 - 10 comments

Last year, as McCain's campaign seemed stumbling into the grave, it applied for federal matching funds for the primary season. After Super Tuesday, McCain withdrew from the system. Or did he? If he didn't, he's capped at $54 million to spend till September -- and he's already spent $50 million of it. Former FEC Chairman Brad Smith tells, in bravura detail, the whole whirling story. (via Election Law Blog) [more inside]
posted by shivohum on Feb 26, 2008 - 32 comments

Chris Matthews has been openly critical of Hilary Clinton. Still, he's certainly not the only one to suggest her recent tears were nothing more than a performance. So when does criticism cross the line into obsession? Note: For those of you sick of American politics, consider this: when was the last time you saw a potential leader pinched on the cheek?
posted by misha on Jan 10, 2008 - 150 comments

Clinton in planted questions row. The US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has criticised her aides after she was accused of taking pre-arranged questions at a rally in Iowa. A case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss?
posted by Tommy Gnosis on Nov 12, 2007 - 74 comments

OppoDepot.com is the Internet's only nonpartisan, collaborative Web 2.0 source for negative information about the 2008 presidential candidates. "Opposition research," aka "oppo research" is the black art of digging up dirt on your political enemies. OppoDepot promises to allow netizens to do the same thing, Web 2.0-style. They have helpfully given us starter oppo on all the candidates, even the obscure ones. Enjoy the negativity!
posted by TheWash on Mar 8, 2007 - 42 comments

I'm Paul R Nelson, and I approve of this message anything that might get me elected. Why? Well, his congressman Ron Kind is the (cue menacing music) WRONG KIND. For starters, he pays for sex, but not soldiers (wmv). On top of that, he also voted to let illegal aliens burn the American flag (wmv). But worst of all? Because of him, we're dependent for oil on islamic fascists and nations that support terrorism. Elect Paul R Nelson, and he'll finish the job he started 23 years ago (wmv). Best. Smear ads. Ever. Check out the radio ads and his photo collection for even more stomach-churning right-wing meretriciousness.
posted by nTeleKy on Oct 19, 2006 - 33 comments

The solution?
posted by threehundredandsixty on Oct 13, 2005 - 29 comments

How Bush Did It "A team of Newsweek reporters unveils the untold fears, secret battles and private emotions behind a historic election." An in-depth series of behind-the-scenes articles. [via Salon 's War Room, which also says Bush's bulge was a bulletproof vest.]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 4, 2004 - 55 comments

The Big Picture Yep...one day left. MSNBC.com presents a broadband-only interactive that puts you in the hot seat of a Campaign Adviser. The "Produce and Ad" bit is a hoot.
posted by crunchybird on Nov 1, 2004 - 8 comments

American Savagery. "Our role was to try to keep people motivated about [the] election and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that." The brutal chicanery of Karl Rove.
posted by four panels on Oct 18, 2004 - 25 comments

More than rhetoric... As the campaign gets more divisive and time grows short incidents of violence are breaking out more and more often. Shots have been fired on more than one occasion, swastikas burned, intimidation and just plain kicking. Hopefully it gets better from here, but somehow I don't think so.
posted by soulhuntre on Oct 7, 2004 - 73 comments

Who is funding a candidate and for how much. You can search by name or zip code to find out. Here is a link to prominent pittsburgh people that have contributed.
posted by Raichle on Sep 29, 2004 - 15 comments

The campaign website of Alan Keyes , Illinois Republican Party's nominee for the United States Senate. [via Chicagoist]
posted by azul on Aug 17, 2004 - 48 comments

You can probably guess who people like Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stein have given campaign contributions to. But how about Jennifer Garner? Reese Witherspoon? Siegfried and Roy? Karl Malone? The Newsmeat Hall Of Fame has the answers.
posted by SisterHavana on Jul 8, 2004 - 39 comments

Joshua Green wrote an interesting and insightful piece regarding the current state of political advertisements. Here is an example of an ad by a media consultant he refers to, based in Pittsburgh. Another spin here. I've often wondered why they're so predictable. The Atlantic gives us a glimpse into poly. ad history and, quite possibly, its future.
posted by BlueTrain on Jul 6, 2004 - 8 comments

Bush campaign lies with unprecedented frequency. Making history with unprecedented negativity.
posted by four panels on May 31, 2004 - 76 comments

Fundrace. Innovative rankings and maps about presidential candidates. The maps are especially cool.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Nov 10, 2003 - 14 comments

Link from the FEC's website A link off of the FEC's website seems to suggest Hillary Clinton's going to take a shot at the big office. The results can be retrieved like this:

1) Go to The FEC Site
2) Click on "Citizen Guide"
3) Click on "View Reports" under the "Campaign Finance Information" header on the right
4) Click "Search the Report Image System"
5) Search for "Clinton, Hillary"

The first link is for Senate in 2000, the second is for President in 2004. It would seem that she's breaking her promise to the residents of New York State to not run for President during her first term. However, this Wired article suggests she was listed for the same thing for the 2000 elections (though the record now lists 2004).
posted by phong3d on Oct 3, 2003 - 16 comments

this election cycle's best campaign website? very nicely done. via the always excellent ugga bugga
posted by specialk420 on Aug 7, 2003 - 15 comments

The First Democratic Debates were last night, but you wouldn't know it from the media's coverage. Barely a story on CNN. Howard Dean stole the night, with over a hundred screaming supporters outside the debates. The only person there with supporters was the blogging Presidential Candidate. There were students there from U.C. Berkley, Washinton, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. All thanks to the power of blogspot, and meetup. Whether or not Dean gets the nomination, this will be a campaign for the history books. They'll be on c-span all day today.
posted by cjoh on May 4, 2003 - 67 comments

The art of the political campaign song is alive and well. Candidates in Ohio , Indiana, Tennessee, and Minnesota have 'em. What about where you live?
(Caution: All state name links are to sound files. Links to campaign sites inside.)
Heck, Lamar even got Bocephus.
posted by putzface_dickman on Oct 11, 2002 - 8 comments

Enron's historical precidents. This L.A. Times article discusses the historical precidents to the Enron debacle. My favorite (among lots of good stuff):

"Like Enron, ITT was a big campaign contributor. But Geneen's idea of how to use political influence made Lay and associates look like choir boys. In 1970, the company offered Republicans $1 million and consulted heavily with the Nixon White House and the CIA when Chile's new socialist president, Salvador Allende, threatened to seize the ITT-owned Chilean Telephone Co. Allende was overthrown with U.S. aid."
posted by electro on Feb 22, 2002 - 9 comments

Is this a real chance at campaign finance reform or are we just in for more partisan back and forth that in the end won't change much of anything? (NY Times link) And how long will the "Enron effect" last?
posted by willrich on Jan 25, 2002 - 6 comments

"...the sad truth is there really are no great differences between British and American campaigns."
posted by normy on May 26, 2001 - 1 comment

And now for something different... Or maybe not. Try voting for everybody. Who knows what will happen. Maybe Gore will win finally? (not sure if this was posted before, but found it funny.)
posted by da5id on Nov 28, 2000 - 6 comments

The Campaign Scandal Generator. Just in time for the lightning round of the campaign!
posted by john on Nov 3, 2000 - 6 comments

Nader's new television ad parodies those hilarious monster.com ads with the little kids hoping they'll grow up to have crappy jobs. In the Nader ad, the kids hope they'll grow up to have the same crappy politicians, sold out to corporations, with no real change.
posted by daveadams on Oct 31, 2000 - 6 comments

Three major environmental groups break with Nader "You pledged you would not campaign as a spoiler and would avoid the swing states,” [Sierra Club’s executive director] Pope added. “Your recent campaign rhetoric and campaign schedule make it clear that you have broken this pledge." (via the blorg.)
posted by rebeccablood on Oct 31, 2000 - 31 comments

In the spirit of the American Memory Digital Library or Duke's Digital Scriptorium, the American Museum of the Moving Image has a new exhibit called The Living Room Candidate- a comprehensive collection of presidential campaign ads since the 1950's.
posted by kidsplateusa on Oct 23, 2000 - 6 comments

Nader does good ad. Pair of talking heads on Nader's upcoming TV ad. Interesting analysis, and links to either a transcript or a Windows Media file of the ad.
posted by aurelian on Aug 11, 2000 - 2 comments

I approached this review expecting it to be of the "major media providers are the problem, not the solution" sort, but discovered something somewhat different: "It’s not that the medium of the modern political campaign–television advertising–failed to do justice to men of substance, but that men of substance failed to adapt to television advertising..."
posted by dcehr on Aug 7, 2000 - 3 comments

Open Secrets is a site for election information that takes the term "full disclosure" to the nth level. You can see how much money all the presidential candidates have taken and from whom. You can even do searches for "all the people in a single zip code that gave more than $1,000 to George Bush." And it's not just for would-be presidents, you can see who is filling senator's pockets too (like Philip Morris bankrolling Jesse Helms - big surprise there). It's all information that we deserve to know, and thanks to the web, it's there for the reading.
posted by mathowie on Jul 13, 2000 - 7 comments