I missed this the first time around, I guess, since it was posted over at 23/6 towards the end of October. But this video of all three debates synchronized really makes you wonder whether the Presidential debates are worth watching at all. I enjoyed the occasional cleverness in them, but I explicitly remember not gaining any new information.
It is amazing, when the facts are laid out truthfully in graphic form, the story that they can tell. Chart Junk has posted a chart that should rightfully outrage any American. Brilliantly illustrated. Maddeningly frustrating information. The great thing about this chart is that you don’t need to read to get it. I desperately, desperately want a courageous debate mediator to show both the candidate this chart and ask them about it.
With all the hubbub about McCain and Obama being in a “dead heat” in the polls, I’m still wondering about the accuracy of these polls in the first place. Pollsters don’t call mobile phones, they call landlines. What demographic in this country do you suppose is less likely to have a landline and own only a mobile? And which demographic is really excited about Obama? Give the significant differences between the prediction markets (still almost ten points) and the polls, I seriously have to wonder if the pollsters are underestimating their tactics. I don’t think McCain is doing nearly as well as the media thinks he is.
One of the effects of design in media is its ability to underscore or derail a message. And that’s an important fact for a presidential candidate (or their campaign materials designer) to take into consideration. I mean, despite its at-first-glance solidity and structure, you wouldn’t want to end up using a font (Trajan) that for the most part these days, is totally associated with horror movies. Conscious or not, there’s an underlying aesthetic appeal built in the color and font and graphic choices of the candidates. In fact, I personally believe that the savviness of the campaign materials probably says a lot about a candidate’s lack of a tendency to micromanage. Bad design decisions are far more likely the fault of overly-fussy and uninformed clients then they are designers. So, who’s looking savvy for 2008 anyway?
