Presidential Race Has Become Frivolous; MySpace Jumps on Board; Now I’m Interested

The Presidential race was largely off my radar ever since last season of Saturday Night Liveended and stopped featuring candidates (actual and parodied, see below for a particularly great one). There was a blip recently when Obama delivered a speech to a captive audience in Germany and McCainretaliated (in what I thought was a charmingly pathetic way) by dining with small business owners at a German restaurant in Ohio.

Then there was the recent backlash to McCain’s sensational ad (see below) in which McCain acknowledges Obama has a tremendous amount of star quality but questions his abilities as a leader.Funny or Die sponsored a video featuring Paris Hilton’s response to “that wrinkly old guy” (as she calls him). She proposes a compromise between Obama and McCain that would feature both offshore drilling and research into technology to reduce the U.S.’s dependency on foreign oil. A spokesman for McCain toldTMZin response, “Sounds like Paris is taking the 'All of the Above' energy approach that John McCain has advocated – both alternatives and drilling. Perhaps the reality is that Paris has a more substantive energy plan than Barack Obama.” Ouch.

On a side note, Kathy Hilton has responded via her blog on Huffington Postabout McCain’s use of her daughter’s likeness in his campaign saying, “I've been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.” Amen to that.

I have to admit the frivolity of it all is what has renewed my interest in the election. Months ago, it seemed Obama had successfully targeted the 18 to 24 demo, mastering digital media with a unique campaign that included YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Now that McCain has resorted to the likes of TMZ and Paris Hilton, the presidential race just got a more entertaining.

It was announced this week that even MySpace will be getting in on the action as well, announcing that it will be launching MyDebates.org in partnership with the Commission on Presidential Debates to stream debate footage both live and on-demand. Adding to the convenience will be bookmarks allowing users to cut to segments about issues they’re most concerned with. Of course no online video is complete without the ability to comment, rate, share and embed the clips, all of which will be available to users. 

Sadly, Facebookrecently pulled its U.S. Politics application (I was a big fan). I was told by a spokesperson for Facebook that the application, which was a collaboration between ABC News and Facebook, “fit best with the type of online discussions and off-air reporting that took place during the presidential primaries.” Bummer.