Any chance Obama's 30-minute special could hurt him?

[Drunken Irishman]

Not that I think it will, but I keep hearing it's a high risk move.

Why is it risky? Do you think people will be pissed he's on every channel, preempting their shows?

[Bicoastal]

1. OK, you and me, Drunken. PM. Now.

[Ichingcarpenter]

29. Any reply? I'm CONCERNED about our friend!

Who knows Obama might have Greek columns behind him.

[RayOfHope]

32. Yes. Concern. Always lots and lots of drunken concern. n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

37. Mr. Natural said drinking and smoking pot at the same time is like

pissing in the wind for the youth.

I can do it now, but I'm an old master.

[Cha]

50. Give it

and give good.

[RichardRay]

60. Will he have the puppy by then?

Thirty minutes of Michelle, Sasha, Malia, the puppy and Barack hanging out and telling bad jokes should do the job quite nicely, I think.

[msallied]

2. Hard to say. I think it will piss off the hard right.

But the rest of us are reasonable enough, I think, to tune in if we want or tune out. Besides, I can't tell you how many times I've had shows I normally like to watch pre-empted by Billy Graham on ABC. lol

[orestes]

3. Well, what shows is he preempting?

I don't think it was anything special that night, but I might be wrong. Really, so long as he doesn't have a segment on how best to barbecue a baby, it should help him.

[demokatgurrl]

58. Just delaying the World Series- and Fox

made a point of saying that. And in fact, the delay will be about 15 minutes but still- he's keeping diehard sports fans (and I'm one!!) from our game.

That and you have to watch Fox for both events.

[RoccoR5955]

4. The only way that it can hurt him...

...is if people don't get out and vote, and get others out to vote. My gut feeling is that this will be the most watched program on US TV EVER!!!!

[Uzybone]

5. Who says its risky?

Morning Joe? Buchanan? Whats risky about it? The conventions pre-empted their favorite shows and people still tuned in. So did the debates. Geez people.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. Maybe it'll have the opposite effect. "Alright alright I'll freakin' vote for

you. Just shut up and put my shows back on, damn." Or something like that. :shrug:

[jefferson_dem]

No way.

It will only help, and help it will.

I'm really curious about what production techniques they will roll out. Seriousness is required but i'm not sure if the "just talk to the camera with charts and stuff" (a la Perot) for a half hour is the proper formula. Team Obama won't let us down.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

35. I'm pretty curious to see what they do as well.

[AlCzervik]

7. are there any shows actually worth watching on tv now? Not as far as i can see.

everything i like is on demand for free.

[Starry Messenger]

8. What 30 minute special?

I'm a few steps behind here.

[Drunken Irishman]

10. On the 29th, Obama is airing a 30-minute special on CBS, NBC and FOX.

[Starry Messenger]

15. Well it better not preempt "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Or else.








Oh shoot. I already voted for him.

[Motown_Johnny]

unlikely... he has handled everything else brilliantly. I expect an historic message from him

[Catshrink]

9. Everything he's done is smart.

I can't see it hurting him.

[sampsonblk]

11. Yes, but...

Considering his sizeable lead at the moment, I'd ask why on earth he'd even go through with it. But he probably has a good plan.

If its just an informercial, I think it won't hurt.

[mckara]

12. If It Shows Him in Bed with a Dead Hooker, or a Live Boy...

It will hurt him. If it's regular campaign video, he'll be fine!

[Drunken Irishman]

13. haha!

I wonder what he'll do. I hope it's something with Michelle and the kids.

[David Zephyr]

14. No.

I like the media block out.

Barack gets to go unfiltered to the American people.

[Fleshdancer]

16. I don't think so, but maybe it depends on the format

Do we have any information on what Obama is doing with this time? Will he be addressing the nation? Will he be interviewed? Is it live or pre-taped?

I was just a kid when Perot purchased network time and I vaguely remember that he had charts and was boring (because I was a kid), but I don't recall what the reaction was.

:shrug:

I can say that people who hate Obama will hate this too and I bet McCain will continue to bitch about the amount of money Obama has.

[Schulzz]

17. Only McCain's campaign could manage that 30 minutes of airtime would hurt them.

They could for example, let Palin give a speech or let her take real questions. :hide:
Some people may not like it - people who would not vote for him anyway - but nobody will base his vote on the fact that Obama is on every channel for 30 minutes.
He might be able to win some voters over, if his message is good and positive and I have no doubt it will be.

[Diamonique]

18. I'm guessing it will be a toned-down stump speech, with some of his soaring oratory thrown in.

But most of it will be used to stamp out any last-minute nasty business thrown at him by the Rethugs -- once and for all.

[terrya]

19. Nope

[torbird]

20. No chance! Shut up!

[FSogol]

21. It'll be 30 minutes of McBush blinking. n/t

[emulatorloo]

22. Every time he goes on TV his poll numbers and favorables rise EOM

[Drunken Irishman]

23. Thanks everyone for easing my minimal fears.

I wasn't too nervous, but was just wondering if it'd piss people off. I agree, it isn't unlikely to hurt him.

[SurfingAtWork]

24. Well, he is known for his poor public speaking skills so yeah I'm a little worried.

:sarcasm:

:evilgrin:

[alcibiades_mystery]

25. Yes, it will go down in history as the Informercial that Lost an Election

He will spend 30 minutes calmly describing his plan to the American people, and they will reject him en masse because he preempted their viewing of The Big Bang Theory.

Bloodbath! Massive miscalculation! Disaster!

:evilgrin:

Aw, I'm just fuckin' witcha, Irish.

[markevil]

26. He can probably buy his own channel....

Obama 24/7

[Starlight]

27. I'd watch.

:loveya:

[Drunken Irishman]

38. He does have one on Direct TV!

I kid you not! :D

[book_worm]

28. Nobody I've heard has said it's a "high risk move" It will be fine.

[Bucky]

30. There's several ways this could go wrong. #1- at a 30 minute run time, viewers might...

...think it's a sitcom.

#2 - a sudden outbreak of "Hope fatigue"

#3 - dyslexic viewers will get excited, then accidently vote for Carob K Amoeba for president instead.

#4 - "Senator Obama is too ill to speak, so his broadcast tonight will be delivered by Joey Buttafuco"

#5 - he accidently bought airtime on "Opposite Day"

[foo_bar]

41. "Joey Buttafuoco here!"

[Phoonzang]

31. Nah. That'll be fine.

Biden's mouth is much worse.

[krkaufman]

33. Any chance? Yes.

He could confess that he's an Fundamental Islamic Christian Black Nationalist looking to convert our economics system to communism and is planning to put Bill Ayers in change of the Defense Department.

[FrenchieCat]

51. You forgot radical communist pinko socialist!

[Marsala]

34. It's high risk only because of the huge amount of money he's putting into it...

...or at least, that was the conventional wisdom before Sunday, when Obama officially announced that he has more money than God.

[Drunken Irishman]

39. Makes sense.

[sniffa]

36. Only if he forgets to bring pie

charts.

[scheming daemons]

40. He's on 3 channels.... .most people have hundreds... he's not preempting anything....

...and he controls the message during that time. 100% of it.


There is no way that it could hurt him. What a silly question.

[mwei924]

42. Unless he replaces it with an episode of According to Jim.

I think he's fine.

[WeDidIt]

43. Dude, you seriously need to chill

there's no reason to get all freaked out about every little thing that goes on in this campaign.

[ecstatic]

44. hmm good question. Maybe if he's 10 pts up next wed he should just cancel

the ad? :shrug:

[TheDonkey]

45. WTF?! High risk move!? It is a BRILLIANT move.

As long as it is a high quality (masterfully produced) positive yet strong package it will "seal the deal". My hope for Obama, make it like your convention speech, a HOME RUN!

[quakerboy]

46. super risky

I mean, from this point forward, even continuing to exist is a risky move. Of course ceasing to exist would be risky too. I am worried.

[rucky]

47. High risk for the opposition. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

48. It is very difficult to see an actual downside

I'm guessing the worst he could do is no affect.

[Thrill]

49. We don't even know what it is? So how can one answer this?

[FLyellowdog]

52. He will be very presidential, I'm sure.

We'll see lots of photos of his family and he'll say lots of thank you's to all his volunteers and will remind us all of how great/strong this country is and he'll encourage everyone who hasn't voted to go vote for whichever candidate they support....and HE WILL CALL FOR A SENSE OF CALM REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ELECTION BRINGS. Remember, he is uniting this country...he is our hope...he will do a fantastic job. I don't think it will be a "Vote for Obama" type of deal. Instead it will show the country just what an outstanding person he is, filled with class, honesty, and clarity. He'll do good.

[treestar]

53. No.

[Phx_Dem]

54. Only if you're Rachel Maddow. Sorry Rachel. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

55. (facepalm)

[VenusRising]

56. No way!

I think he is going to have a 30 minute conversation with the American people right in their living rooms. It's going to seem like he is talking right to you about all the issues that America faces and why he is best for the job. He will be brilliant, and people will feel like they just spent 30 minutes with the next President in their very own homes.

[skooooo]

57. Maybe ...if he..

...just stood in front of the camera and ate pie.

[politicasista]

59. No

I don't think it will hurt him. I think it will allow people to get to see how presidential he is. Of course, he'll never get the bigot repuke vote, but it can humanize him.

[RollWithIt]

61. Name a time that Obama has been on TV speaking to Americans and it has been bad?

He hit the ball out of the ballpark in 2004 during his DNC speech. He has consistently inspired MILLIONS to show up to hear him speak. He has consistently performed well in over 30 debates, winning all three Presidential General Election debates.

30 minutes of no commercial airtime to explain himself to America?

AWESOME.

[Top Cat]

62. I think it is great..... Gives him 1 last opportunity to reach the masses with his message

[Cosmic Charlie]

63. Shut Up!

Whoooooooooooooooooo!!!