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American Links

By Michael Lee - posted Sunday, 30 January 2000


Maybe I’m a sadist but for years now I’ve been captivated by American political campaigns. Unfortunately in the "old days" I had to pick up tit-bits in the newspapers or subscribe to expensive overseas magazines just to get an idea of what was happening. With the advent of the internet all the information I want is just the click of a button away.

Here are some of my favourite bookmarked sites. Note you will need realplayer to watch the political ads and debates.

Presidential Candidates

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The internet has become a major medium for presidential candidates to sell their campaign message with most candidates now buying banner ads. These days you can contribute online, sign up to receive weekly newsletters, become part of an internet volunteer campaign team, keep up to date with what the candidates are up to or watch their latest political ads. Here are the links to the major candidates official web sites:

Democratic Candidates Al Gore and Bill Bradley

Republican Candidates John McCain, Steve Forbes and George W (Dubya) Bush

Newspapers, TV stations and Campaign Ads.

The New York Times Presidential Campaign site is an excellent resource. You will find all sorts of information on the presidential candidates including the TV ads presently showing in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. You will have to subscribe to gain access to the ads (a very simple task) and the cost is free.

At Primary Scoop you will find links to the latest news from the primary campaign, how much campaign staff are being paid and vote on online polls. In the same genre Politics One offers plenty of information for the political junkie. If you are interested then subscribe to their newsletters and get regular updates on what is happening on the American political scene.

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Much like the New York Times, CNN, C-SPAN, The Washington Post and Des Moines Register offer comprehensive coverage of the primary campaigns including videos of the debates and links to other sites.

Minnesota

What is it about Minnesotans and political campaigns? I came across KTCA TV whilst looking for some information on Jesse Ventura and his campaign for Governor of Minnesota.

The site has campaign ads from Minnesota over the years with a focus on the 1998 Gubernatorial elections.

This was the election when Jesse "The Body" Ventura, former Navy Seal, WWF wrestling champion, actor and Mayor became Jesse "The Governor" Ventura campaigning on a shoe-string budget of $440,000. Ventura is acknowledged as the first candidate to successfully use the internet during a campaign to garner support from the community. The ads may seem corny but are brilliant, intertwining Ventura’s fame with his campaign theme of reform. For a comprehensive analysis of Ventura’s internet campaign then check out Politics Online.

There is also the Hall if Fame where you can find numerous other ads from previous elections. My pick is Paul Wellstone’s "Where’s Rudy?" Ad. Whilst the ad at two minutes is comparatively long by political standards it had what it took when the under-resourced political underdog Wellstone pulled off a surprise victory to become the only candidate during that election to defeat an incumbent Senator.

History of Political Ads

PBS has a time-line of political ads from as far back as the 1950’s when TV really started to play an important role in campaigns.

Make sure you check out Lyndon B Johnson’s devastating ad in 1964 entitled "Daisy" and Bill Clinton’s comparison ad in 1996 to see American style negative ads at their best.

State of the Union Address

Interested in watching the State of the Union address by the President Clinton, then check out the White House’s special site.

Political Cartoons

Finally if you are a fan of political cartoons then make sure you check out Daryl Cagle’s Cartoon website. You will find thousands upon thousands of cartoons on all sorts of issues and personalities.

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About the Author

Michael Lee is a Brisbane based consultant who assesses economic loss in litigation matters. His interests include human rights, American political history, and Native Title.

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