Mood:  a-ok

 You know the feeling you get in your gut when you see an elderly parent or grandparent do or say something that just paints them as "old and out of touch"? You cringe (internally or externally) and weigh whether or say anything or not. 

Well, that same sensation came over me today as I read over the bulletins that were posted by my "friends" on my MySpace account. (A li'l background here - I sent "add me as a friend" requests to each of the presidential candidates that I could find on MySpace. My own li'l on-going experiment in democracy on the Web. The first to accept me: Dennis Kucinich and Mitt Romney - how's that for an unlikely pairing of first respondents?) Anyhoo, the candidates, or more accurately, their staffers responsible for online marketing have been flooding the MySpace bulletin boards with a stream of messages - Kucinich's people doing the most, often reposting the same message repeatedly during the same day.

Today, McCain's people posted the following bulletin from Roger Staubach. I'll let you read the message, and then my response, which follows, without any further commentary. 

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------

From: John McCain Date: Sep 25, 2007 7:41 PM

When the clock is running down and the game is on the line, the team huddle is one of the most important parts of the game for a quarterback. It's the last chance he has to pull his team together and inspire them to victory.

As the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen, I learned early on that everyone in the huddle was looking to me to display confidence that we would win. They can see it in your eyes - and it's often the difference between victory and defeat.

If you look in John McCain's eyes, you see a man ready to win and confident in victory. He is a leader-- focused on getting his message out and energized for this important stretch in the campaign.

The fourth quarter of this year is going to be the most important in this campaign. That's why it's important for us not to stand on the sidelines and watch - it's time to get in the game right now. We can't do our job in the fourth quarter unless we play hard in the third.

The end of the third quarter of this year on September 30th marks another important fundraising deadline, and it's crucial that John McCain has the resources necessary to win heading into the final stretch of the campaign. Whether we like it or not the national press uses these fundraising numbers as a benchmark on how well the campaign is doing.

These next seven days are the last chance we have as a team of McCain supporters to huddle up and get ready for this fundraising deadline. And the most important way we can show our support for John McCain is by making an immediate online donation. I hope you'll join me in making the most generous contribution you can to John McCain.

America is at a crossroads of an important moment in our history, and I know John McCain has the experience and vision necessary to lead our country.

I'm counting on you to respond to this email before this crucial deadline on September 30th. Please don't delay in making your generous contribution using this secure online form.

The clock is ticking and we're getting ready to make a final push to victory - will you join us?

Sincerely,


Roger Staubach

P.S. Football requires a team effort. So does a campaign. The best quarterback in the world can't do it alone. In John McCain our team has a leader we can be proud of and have confidence in - but he can't do it alone.

It's our turn to step up right now and show him that we're doing our part to make him the next President of the United States. Many thanks.

Dear Sen. McCain, and the folks who run your MySpace profile. Please accept this email as some respectfully submitted constructive criticism, and not a slam...

Posting a bulletin message of support from Roger Staubach will have nearly zero impact on the MySpace audience. As great a serviceman, and quarterback as Mr. Staubach was, and regardless of how wonderful a person he is, he is 65 year old, white male, who retired from the NFL in 1979. That means, he's most likely the age of a MySpace user's father or grandfather, and he retired before most of the MySpacers were even born.

Great spokesperson if you're hitting up the Texas audience, or the AARP, but not MySpace - even if you're hitting the upper age demo on MySpace. Trotting out an elder statesman, like Staubach, just isn't going to sway the average 18+ year old. And, I fear that it simply adds fuel to the argument that Sen. McCain is out of touch with the youth of this country.

While you don't need to pander by lining up a (God forbid) Britney, Lindsay, or Paris, finding a solid, knowledgeable, well-known 20 or 30-something for an endorsement, wouldn't be the worst idea.

Good luck with your campaign, and best wishes on reaching the youth market.

Sincerely,

Jamie

Leaving the content of Staubach's message aside - fundraising, fourth quarter, the media, blah, blah, blah - I really, riehle do believe that McCain's people, or what's left of his staff at this point, are missing the boat in their use of MySpace. It's that, "Oh, grandpa..." moment, and underscores the fact that McCain, if elected, would be the oldest elected president in the history of the United States...yes, that includes Ronald Reagan, and he was oooollllllllld. If McCain has to trot out some elderly supporters, at least go with Andy Griffith - today's kids know him from "Andy Griffith Show" re-runs, the occasional movie cameo (like in "Waitress"), and countless Grandpa Simpson references to "Maaaatlock."