Rumored Presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo has just launched TeamTancredo.com - allegedly the online control center for his future bid for the nom. Looking at the site, I can't imagine that's going to be the case. Functionally, aesthetically, and on just about every other level, this is not the site of a Presidential contender.
Tancredo has a significant following among the "protect the border" crowd, but his site gives the impression it's being built and maintained by his neighbor's kid. Surely there are some tech savvy folks in the "put up a wall brigade", who could lend a hand and give Tancredo some credibility online.
Simple things like margins on his text are missing, mashing his copy into the border of the tables he relies on for structure (don't get me wrong, I still prefer tables to doing everything via CSS, but at least use CSS to control your copy).
The Meet Tom page is a giant block of text that would run from one edge of the screen to the other if my resolution wasn't set so fantastically high (1400x1050). As it is, I can read it fairly easily, but anyone with a lower resolution is looking at a full screen of text, and that would have to be annoying.
The site is built using ASP, but I'm not sure why given there appears to be absolutely no dynamic content. His issue page is one long block of text, his press releases are jammed together in one long page, and his Activist Headquarters is a poorly designed form that asks for information he's unlikely to ever use.
I'd dig deeper, but there's no more. The whole site consists of six static pages and a place to give money - brought to you by Aristotle. Even as limited as it is, the landing page for making a contribution looks so different from the rest of the site that it's almost jarring to land there.
The big news flash on his site indicates he has raised $1,000,000 so far. From the look of it, he has probably spent about $300 on his web operation.
The one thing they're doing that actually indicates even a passing understanding of the web is the use of You Tube. Unfortunately, even that is done poorly. They have a couple of videos on the home page including a Tucker Carlson appearance and what looks to be the beginning of a video blog.
I like the fact that he's trying the video blog, but the lighting is poor and it appears he's sitting on a white couch, so everything looks washed out. A little test shoot would have revealed the need for more production value.
I feel like I'm constantly beating up on GOP candidates for not getting it, and it's really getting me down. I'm also usually a believer in the "less is more" school, but in this case, "less" is just not enough.
Well, I went to JoinRudy2008.com to get another glimpse of his "Evil Mastermind Hand Clutch" picture and his flags that were all flying in separate directions, but I was greeted instead by a professional looking website.
Damn.
That rudy pic was comic gold.
As far as GOP sites go, it's now probably one of the best. But if you ask me--and this doesn't have anything to do with my huge left slant--Edwards, Obama and Hillary are all lightyears ahead in terms of aesthetics and functionality.
The whole Tancredo schtick has the feel of cheap linoleum -- so at least the site is reperesentative of the larger effort. And that's a plus, I supppose.
And you're right -- the site's technical limitations aside, the layout is so dense and imposing that when I opened the issues page, I didn't just MEGO, my eyes actually rolled up in my head and my chin hit the keyboard.
Basta ya, Tom -- no mas, por favor...
Jack McEnany, Editor LostNation.TV
Yesterday I was researching an issue for my Democracy for America group. I visited a bunch of presidential campaign sites (all Democratic). I'm used to having a few display problems as I use Firefox on a Mac, and sites don't always support it. Indeed, I did have a few glitches.
But what really disturbed me (as a professional writer) is how little most of the sites said. All had a place to sign up to volunteer and/or contribute, and to get on their email list. A few had these as splash screens you had to choose to skip to get to the homepage. Call me picky, but I was bothered by this. Don't ask me to sign up as a supporter before you tell me who and what I'm supporting!
Hillary Clinton gets my vote as the most content-free website of the bunch. I couldn't even find a section on issues, but had to troll through her speeches to try to find anything. I know American voters are supposed to care more about image than issues. But those of us who take the trouble to visit a candidate's site are not usually of that ilk. They watch TV. We go online because we actually care where a candidate stands and what they're proposing.
In 2004, I worked my ass off for Howard Dean in several states, and donated a bunch of money. I did it because his website laid out what he wanted to do, how, and why. I have never felt so respected as a voter. It started me on a three-year stint as a political activist and a confirmed online political junkie that I've obviously not recovered from yet.
I appreciate a nicely done site. But if any candidate wants to know how to use the web to get my support, content is really it. Treat me like an adult and give me the information I need to make an informed decision.
Regarding your critique of www.TeamTancredo.com, my group, Purge Congress, Inc., has www.TomForPresident.com.
I cannot think of a better URL for the Tom Tancredo campaign unit than www.TomForPresident.com.
www.TomForPresident.com is so natural/friendly ... So Internet. Who looks on the web for TeamTancredo.com unless someone has paid millions, i.e.; mail, e-mail, print and more, to inform people how to find TeamTancredo.com.
Besides, who can spell T-A-N-C-R-E-D-O without seriously thinking about how to spell such?
As recent as today, 04/04/07, we offered www.TomForPresident.com to the Tom Tancredo campaign office in Virginia. Neither price nor terms were discussed; just the fact that the URL domain was available and that I thought that the best use of it would be by the Tom Tancredo campaign. If they do not timely respond, I will be forced to classify Tom Tancredo as another wannabe president.
Another wannabe president, with a high profile campaign manager, Bay Buchanan, that seeks nothing more than to raise millions of donors' dollars in order to support their self-serving elite life styles.
Purge Congress, Inc.
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Wow
1. Rudy should be happy that he no longer has the worst website of any GOP contender. Now that V For Vendetta has dropped out, Tommy Tancredo seems to be undisputed in his race for the 1996 Internet Primary
2. Even if the guy can't wrap his head around CSS, the least he could do is set some padding=5 or something to prevent the text from hugging the border.
3. How ironic that, of all people to have this website, it's Tom Tancredo. The text on his page is clearly committing a border incursion. Maybe the only thing that could've been more ironic is if he didn't use borders on his page at all