Boy do I agree!

cfinnie — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:31:31 -0400

That's almost exactly what I've said in discussions on other posts about candidate websites. I keep wanting to echo that old TV commercial and say "Where's the beef?" If I take the trouble to come to your website, it's only because I'm trying to decide whether or not to support you. And the only way I'm going to do that is if you give me a really good reason. I want to know where you stand and why--the why part gives me a good indication of what positions you'll take on issues in the future. I want to know who you are--not in the sense of where you were born or went to school, but rather in what you stand for. If you're looking for issues content, Dennis Kucinich is certainly the winner. I also found Obama and Richardson pretty light, though at least they have something.

I even got an email from the Clinton campaign asking for my feedback on her health plan. So I looked for the plan. Never found it. So I wrote back and told them I'd like to see one. Too strange!

I recently lectured a college class on messaging and positioning and used presidential candidates as an example. I told them that any candidate who doesn't position themselves runs the risk of being swift boated. IMHO, by not taking stands and expressing their values, many of the current candidates are exposing themselves to this risk.

I'm sure they're doing this on the advice of highly paid consultants. But, as I so often do, I disagree.

UPDATED: No Issues?

Alan Rosenblatt — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:35:26 -0400

Note: Since this post originally went up, the Clinton campaign has added an issue link on its navigation menu.
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I go to a presidential candidate website, I want to know issues. They may want my money and my email address, but I want to know what I would get if I give a candidate my vote.

I went to Rudy’s website, found the issues page and got a big picture of him with cops, then a list of generic issues with a short paragraph after each. I want more detail. And I expect every candidate to provide me a detailed issues section.

Then I went to Hillary’s site. I was stunned. There is no issues page. Sure, there is plenty of issue-related content on her blog and in the news clippings, but nothing as easy as a list of issues with a short paragraph. Not even a search function to compensate.

techPresident - UPDATED: No Issues? - Comments

Boy do I agree!

UPDATED: No Issues?