In this week’s PrezVid Show, I grade the latest YouTube videos from each of the candidates. It’s a sorry lot. As a group, they are still blowing the opportunity to use YouTube to connect with voters in new ways: more personal, direct, informative, fun. The grades:
John Edwards — Best of the bunch. He, like Barack Obama, posts a speech to a labor convention and I expect them both to pull out hard hats and lunch pails. But he’s passionate and the video is well-organized, giving us his stump-speech stands on Iraq, the environment, and health care. And he even snarks at Barack Obama. Grade: B
Barack Obama — He keeps making Sally Field videos: They love him, they really love him. At another union confab, Obama shouts to the choir but still says little. Grade: C
Hillary Clinton — She was the teacher’s pet with her early videos. But lately, Clinton has been sloughing it off. He latest show just hauls out the hubby to beg for money (and considering her record-blasting take so far, money is the least of her concerns. Grade: C-
Dennis Kucinich — Then again, I have no complaints about Kucinich hauling out his wife to give a report on the Iraq vote on Capitol Hill. Best candidate spouse accent. Best candidate spouse hair. She’s quick, newsy, and charming. What’s not to like? Grade: B
Chris Dodd — He’s the kid in class who tries the hardest but no matter what he does, nobody notices. A’s for effort just don’t add up. Dodd’s attempt to be the man of the people takes him to a firehouse for a conversation with a just-plain voter, but I dare you to tell me what they’re saying. Grade: C-
Joe Biden — He gives us his floor speech on Iraq: passionate, angry, but nothing we couldn’t see on C-SPAN. Grade: C
John McCain — He’s also passionate about Iraq, but from the other side of the floor and the issue, of course. In this quick video, he’s trying to convince a bunch of heartlanders that they are about to be attacked by evil ones. That shtick sure isn’t working for Bush, but McCain won’t let it go. Grade: C
Mitt Romney — It’s hard to say which GOP effort is more pathetic. Romney does nothing in this one but shake hands and then shake more hands, which tells us nothing but that he’s polite. He’s better off talking about his hair. Grade: D
Rudy Giuliani — Pathetic. He puts up audio — not YouTube’s strong suit — of Steve Forbes’ endorsement on Bill Bennett’s radio show with a still picture. Grade: D-
Ron Paul — Mind-boggling. The libertarian candidate gives us a 10-minute video — part 1 of 2 — that looks like outtakes from Twin Peaks. It’s weird but mesmerizing in its goofiness: See Ron Paul’s cheesy motel. Watch Ron Paul put the sun visor down.Watch him put the sun visor up. And all this is set to utterly incongruous rock riffs. Grade: F (But this is the paper the teachers hand around in the lounge.)
Others not in the show:
Bill Richardson — He’s the latest candidate to post a spiel from the SIEU conference. Ho-hum. Grade: C-
Duncan Hunter — He makes the commercials he’ll never be able to afford to broadcast. His latest starts with a football metaphor about trade with China. Grade: D+
Tommy Thompson — He’s the rare candidate who announced his candidacy on big, old, broadcast — Sunday’s This Week on ABC — not even bothering with YouTube. That screams “old fart.” Grade: F
Chuck Hagel — Not even on YouTube. On his own site, he puts up a commercial and links to videos starring him elsewhere. Grade: D-
Sam Brownback — He hasn’t made a video since his announcement and didn’t even put that on YouTube. Grade: F
By the way, my own video skills need some work (I’m signing up for a class), so far be it from me to give advice on technique. So I’ll do the candidates a favor and send them to Jack Black to learn something about tight editing.
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