Register to vote via Xbox LIVE!

Rock the Vote has partnered with Microsoft Corp. in another fantastic technological innovation for this campaign season: facilitating voter registration via Xbox LIVE starting on Monday, August 25, the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Rock the Vote's target audience, the under-30 crowd, is the largest demographic in the 12 million strong Xbox LIVE community. Participants will not only be able to register to vote, but will be able to participate in pre-election polls, which could end up being more accurate than anything Zogby or Gallup could conjur.

DNC Convention Mobile Blogging Test One

This is the first test of the mobile blogging process where I use my
iPhone to send a blog post complete with text

I will do this many times during the day just to keep a kind of active
journal, you know?

Obama VP: Biden, Clinton, Bayh, Kerry or Clark? Who? - DNC Convention

Any day or moment Senator Barack Obama will pick his vice presidential running mate. But who should it be? Senator Joe Biden? Senator Hillary Clinton? Senator Evan Bayh? Senator John Kerry? Or General Wesley Clark? I talk about these possible choices and who I favor, which is an Obama Clinton ticket.

The reason I favor an Obama / Clinton ticket is that it would reform the party and unity would be the word. I still hold it's the most exciting and electrifying of all of the possible combinations before us that are realistic.

Evan Bayh is a popular two-term Senator who comes from Indiana royalty, but outside that state, where can he be most effective? He's just not exciting in my view.

Senator Joe Biden is a fighter and well-known around the World. I think he would bring a lot to the Obama brand, but I'm just not sure he can move the voters like Clinton could.

Then we come to Senator John Kerry, who's ran before and for President. Senator Kerry would bring a large email list and donor base but I think Obama / Kerry would be seen as a match of two elites.

General Wesley Clark certainly has a compelling story, and a war record that surpasses that of John McCain. Clark's been a powerful ally to Obama and would make a great choice to bring liberals solidly into the Obama tent. But can he draw votes? That's the question.

For my money Clinton's the best choice, even with the negative energy she seems to draw from others. But Clinton's not far and away the best selection and I could be swayed to someone else if I knew they would bring votes. Perhaps Kerry could best do that. We shall known soon.

Obama Campaign texting strategy

Last week, the Obama campaign sent supporters a message, via email and text, that they could "be one of the first to know" who he selects as VP if they would just text 62262 and get on the list. At the time, there was some discussion as to whether this was a smart (read this) or not very smart (read this) move. While it can certainly be argued, as Leonce Gaiter did over at HuffPo, that such a strategy cheapens the process, the true genius of this move won't really be seen until November.

The Obama campaign has been very smart in their use of technology. They announced on the web, made huge news for revolutionizing web based fundraising, and have employed text messaging to mobilize their volunteers. They also have a prominent presence on Twitter, FaceBook and MySpace. With the tease of getting a jump on the VP news, they surely signed up thousands more to their text messaging list. Come November, this should pay off when they text these folks to remind them to vote.

I texted 62262 to see what would happen. I received an acknowledgment text immediately. But here's more of that genius: a couple of days ago, I received a text asking for my zip code. Assuming that folks respond favorably and give the campaign their zips, the campaign has just built a new list of supporters to text not just for voting, but for volunteering, which is where one voter turns into 100.

We have yet to see what will actually happen when Obama selects his VP and sends out the news via text, but right now, the strategy looks like a good one for long term voter mobilization.

Saddleback blowback

Beyond any reasonable doubt the public knows that Senator McCain was not in the "cone of silence" in Warren's Green Room at Saddleback, despite his own dodging that question live in front of the pastor's assembled audience when he quipped that he'd been trying to listen through the wall. McCain - or his handlers - evidently lacked the confidence to approach the interview as advertised on a level playing field with Senator Obama, although by most estimates Warren is a friendly interviewer to the McCain campaign and those attending the event were receptive to McCain's candidacy.

Fine; politicians who have survived for decades in DC are likely to seek any advantage, but what does it say about McCain's character that during the interview intended to illuminate the candidates' character and values, conducted by a pastor, that a man who wants so desperately to be President would dance around the truth in front of a national TV audience as though... well, as though he was denying sexual relations with an intern?

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Katie Couric Digg's The DNC Convention

Katie Couric's discovered "Digg" for the DNC Convention. See her video-blog here:

Convention News from DemConWatch

- The opening gavel is only 7 days away. Convention related events start as early as Thursday with the Stonewall Democrats National Convention. You can find info on this and a lot more in the DemConWatch Convention Calendar

- Jon Meacham from Newsweek and Chris Cillizza from the Washington Post will be streaming live coverage 7 hours a day from the convention.

- Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic will also be streaming.

- Senator Norm "Teeth" Coleman wouldn't go to the Republican convention if it was held in Minneapolis.

- The DNCC posts a construction update. They need to be done by Friday for the Open House.

- Qwest has reached an agreement with its workers.

- We should find out who Obama's VP pick is sometime this week.

- Pay Equity Pioneer Lilly Ledbetter has been added to Tuesday's speaking schedule.

“We are honored that Lilly Ledbetter will address the Democratic Convention,” said Senator Barack Obama. “The fact that women are paid less than their male coworkers for doing the same job is unacceptable in the 21st century and counter to both the progress we've made and our shared values as Americans. Lilly Ledbetter's case before the Supreme Court has once again awakened the nation to this discrimination, and it's time we join together to right this wrong and pay women equal pay for equal work." - DNCC Press

- The Big Tent is taking shape