What do anti-Obama vets, a young Hillary Clinton, and two unorthodox investigative journalists have in common? They each make an appearance in this week’s Friday Five.
Young Hillary Clinton (60Frames)
Satirical portrait of Hillary Clinton as a young (and very competitive) girl.
Podemos Con Obama (illwilly)
Latest pro-Obama music video from illwilly, featuring several major figures from the Latin music and film communities.
Senator Obama: Talk to Commanders or Meet with Dictators? (VetsForFreedomVideo)
Vets For Freedom campaign ad targeted against Barack Obama.
TV ad: Bush-McCain Challenge (karinmoveon)
Latest MoveOn.Org ad against John McCain.
Checkmate (InternetsCelebrities)
Engaging investigative report on check cashing and the cycle of poverty.
As the fierce primary battle between Senators Clinton and Obama winds to a conclusion, at least some people are still able to find humor in the situation. This video, produced by 60Frames and featuring actor Jerry O’Connell, presents us with a satirical portrait of Hillary Clinton as a young girl. According to the video, this isn’t the first battle of wills between Hillary and Barack…nor the first time Hillary’s refused to drop of a race.
The Uptake, an organization dedicated to "advancing democracy through citizen journalism," unveiled its plans yesterday to dispatch its team of citizen reporters to Rochester, MN to cover the Minnesota State Democratic Party Convention. Kicking off with Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean's opening address on Friday June 6, the Uptake will offer the first ever live video streaming coverage of the state's Democratic Party Convention -- in its entirety. They also promise to deliver lots of behind-the-scenes interviews and special reports from the convention hall. Check out their official announcement on YouTube here:
The Minnesota Democratic Senate race between the two dynamic candidates, Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, has drawn a great deal of media attention, and the Uptake plans to provide political junkies uninterrupted coverage of the convention on their website. Users will also have multiple ways to engage and participate in their live coverage at theuptake.org
This week, former Senator Mike Gravel, longtime Democrat turned Libertarian, abandoned his hopes for the White House. After losing the Libertarian nomination to former Congressman Bob Barr, Gravel conceded that he’s out of the presidential race--and as the video below seems to suggests, out of politics for good.
For nearly a year, Gravel has been a forceful (and sometimes outrageous) presence on YouTube, pushing the limits of internet video and political campaigning in ways we’ve never seen. No doubt his YouTube celebrity started with The Rock (see below), a slightly avant-garde, but effective video that won Gravel attention both from YouTubers and the mainstream media alike.
But Gravel was just getting warmed up. Among the presidential candidates, Gravel proved to be one of the most active and savvy YouTube users. In addition to launching his own YouTube channel, Gravel continued to collaborate with other YouTube users, leveraging the power of the community to get his message across. Whether granting an interview to then college student James Kotecki, or appearing as Santa Claus with Red State Update, or serenading Obama Girl so that she might switch her allegiances, Gravel showed that when it came to embracing YouTube as a tool for social and political change, he was always willing to go the extra mile.
Gravel’s most consistent collaborator on YouTube has been rx2008, with whom he made a series of edgy political music videos. Complete with psychedelic graphics and not-to-subtle digs at George W., the videos featured Gravel as an anti-establishment agitator and raconteur, a candidate who’s ready to take on the mainstream for the sake of real political change.
Whether these and his other videos strengthened or undermined the legitimacy of his candidacy remains unclear, but they definitely confirmed Gravel’s central message: that he was a different kind of politician. Gravel may have lost his presidential bid, but few can deny that here on YouTube, he certainly caused quite a ripple.
You may be surprised to know that former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a YouTube expert. ngingrich has had a YouTube channel for over a year, and Gingrich - a man of big ideas - has fed it with a steady flow of content from American Solutions, an organization he founded to take on America's toughest problems. Though American Solutions, Gingrich has held a YouTube contest, attacked those in power whom he believes are taking the country in the wrong direction, and posted hot clips from speeches - this contrast Newt draws between the U.S. postal system and FedEx has well over a million views on YouTube.
His latest is a video in which he lays out the solution to our energy crisis - "Drill Now".
But Newt gets the 2-way power of the web, and he's asking people to submit their own ideas in his "Solutions Lab". There, you can submit your solutions to America's problems - and rank the ones you like the best.
Memorial Day might be over—but as the debate over the new G.I. Bill heats up on Capitol Hill, we've noticed a surge of videos featuring U.S. veterans weighing in about the two presumptive presidential front-runners, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. Each has received endorsements from veterans' groups across the country, but each has also been the target of attack ads from others, like the video we saw last week on Senator McCain from VoteVets.org, or this one on Senator Obama:
This latest attack ad is from VetsForFreedom, which accuses Senator Obama of refusing to meet with Iraq War veterans during a recent visit they made to Washington. Meanwhile, other veterans are continuing to speak out against Senator McCain and his opposition to the new G.I. Bill, which would cost nearly 2 billion dollars a year to fund--or, according to most estimates, approximately what the United States spends in Iraq in a week.
Judging from these videos, and in light of the perceived effectiveness of the 2004 Swift Boat ads, it appears U.S. veterans from both parties are going to play a pivotal role in this year's election.
It may be three months away, but the GOP has been planning the Republican National Convention for some time -- and YouTube is a key part of their strategy. The Party plans to use the site to help you to get involved in the action, and they're starting today with their American Neighbor contest.
Between now and June 26, the Convention staff is asking you to upload video profiles of someone from your community who goes "above and beyond the call of duty." Senator John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis explains here:
The YouTube community will get to vote on the best videos, and the winner -- plus the person he or she is profiling -- will get to attend the Convention this fall in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In addition to launching the American Neighbor contest on YouTube, the Convention has been quite busy using their YouTube channel to build buzz around the big event this fall. They've upload clips of great moments from past conventions, like this video of Ronald Reagan's 1980 acceptance speech. They also asked YouTubers to help them name their Convention blog (the winner: "Grand Old Blog"), and they uploaded this clip from an interesting -- and surprising -- visit to the Convention offices by a Democratic superdelegate...dressed as a donkey.
VoteVets.Org just released a video against John McCain criticizing his opposition to the new G.I. bill currently being debated in Congress. Featuring several young U.S. veterans, the video calls on McCain and other senators to support today’s troops by increasing the amount of financial aid veterans receive from the government to pursue their education. While not expressly an attack ad, the video wouldn’t be the first instance of U.S. veterans speaking out against a presidential candidate in an election year—as anyone who’s seen the 2004 John Kerry "Swift Boat" ads can certainly attest.
Ever since ParkRidge47's Vote Different YouTube video, the art of the political mash-up has become a cultural political phenomenon. More recently we've seen people using the ads that candidates upload to the tube as the source material for their mashups, like Hillary Clinton's "Children" ad, which inspired dozens of parodies and mashups, like this one. The latest in this genre started with Senator McCcain's campaign last week. In his "2013" ad, we're given an inspiring preview of what America and the world would be like at the end of a President McCain first term... but this optimistic vision turns absurd in "McCain 2013 Ad Roughcut," posted by SomethingAwfulvideos. It's billed as a "pre-release version" of the official McCain video.
The original McCain piece:
The mash-up:
Whether McCain would approve of this "roughcut" is unclear—but on YouTube a mashup is often the highest form of flattery...
If you think Americans are the only ones following the U.S. presidential election—think again. From England to Russia to the Middle East, people from all over the world are paying close attention to this year’s battle for the White House—and they’re using YouTube to declare their endorsements and speak their minds.
Recognizing the global importance of this year's U.S. election, LinkTV launched "Dear American Voter," a video series in which they asked non-U.S. citizens whom they would vote for and why. These videos highlight the fact that the U.S. President's influence and decision-making extend far beyond national borders.
Some non-U.S. users have uploaded personalized messages to their favorite candidates, like this video from hedjamavieille, who urges Barack Obama not to forget about the people of Africa if he's elected. Other YouTubers have gone one step further, like this British citizen who recently traveled from England to San Francisco specifically to volunteer for Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Whether they’re curious onlookers, supporters from afar, or active volunteers, people all around the world recognize that this year’s U.S. presidential race isn’t just an American tale–it’s a story that involves us all.
CitizenTube is YouTube's News and Politics Blog. Here you'll find important breaking news videos from citizens; developing trends in the use of YouTube by news organizations, activists, politicians, and governments; and lots of other YouTube goodness. Hit us up on Twitter, @citizentube, if you see something worth posting here.
