Some early problems for McCain that MUST be addressed

There is no doubt that we are embarking on what could be one of the most contentious elections that most people living today have ever seen.

Already, attack ads are flying from both sides, and from campaigns to 527 organizations, each entity has started going after the various flaws and slip-ups of their opponents.

Today, CNN is reporting that the Republican National Committee is fighting to have ads released by the Democratic National Convention pulled off of the air, because they are ‘misleading.’

I’m sure next week the DNC will have a slew of ads that they want taken off of the air, and this is just going to be an ongoing cycle of bickering from both of the national organizations.

While I believe that the RNC is right for going after these ads that are in fact misleading, there have been some bigger problems that I’ve been noticing that I think need to be addressed before the RNC and the McCain campaign spend their resources on these inevitable things.

Once Mitt Romney suspended his campaign, I immediately contacted the McCain Headquarters to sign up to volunteer, since the campaign office is located in Arlington, VA, only a few miles from my home.

It would seem safe to assume that the national headquarters for the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States would be a place that is booming with activity, opening their doors early and closing late, making sure they make contact with all time-zones, and after that get the necessary campaign collateral put together.

Having worked on a variety of House, Senate and local campaigns, the campaign headquarters is usually the one spot where you could assume that they always needed help from volunteers. It’s usually a common mantra amongst campaign managers to tell their volunteers that if they find themselves with some free time, to come by the campaign office.

Even if there isn’t work planned, they’ll find something for them to do.

These are things that I thought were universal in the campaign world; however I’ve noticed that when it comes to trying to build a strong volunteer base at the national headquarters, the McCain campaign is doing it all wrong.

I truly believe that if they don’t fix their current program and launch a more flexible volunteer program ASAP, they simply won’t have the manpower they need to run a national campaign come November.

Currently, this is how the McCain volunteer outreach seems to work: when they need you, they’ll send you an email. However, instead of creating a variety of flexible opportunities, this is what McCain campaign sends potential volunteers when asking for help:

“If this is the first time you are getting this, and you are able to come in and help, please RSVP to do so – PLEASE DO NOT JUST SHOW UP.”

To anyone who has been to the McCain office will know that this place is massive, so its not as if they are worries about losing space. But, for some reason they don’t seem to want to open their doors on a full time basis.

While that bothers me, I guess I can understand why they would want people to RSVP first. But what is even more troubling is this:

“Volunteers are welcome between 10 and 7 during the week days and 12 and 4 on Saturday.”

Honestly, what person who works in DC is even home by 7pm? There is no reason why they shouldn’t have their offices open later, especially if they are just looking for help on simple things, like putting signs together, doing mailings, packets, etc.

Washington, DC, without a doubt is home to some of the best campaigners and college campuses in the country, and even though most of these people are employed outside of politics, they are still die-hards who are willing to help if given the opportunity.

Just out of curiosity, I called the Hillary Clinton headquarters which is also located in Arlington, seeing how they operated their volunteer program in their national office. When I called, I was asked what times I was available, what I was interested in doing and where I lived.

Very quickly was I provided with a variety of opportunities to help the campaign, and yes, their hours went beyond 7pm.

Now, I have absolutely no intention of volunteering at the Hillary Clinton HQ, but their willingness to accommodate to volunteers should be noted.

The DNC is doing a great job getting people mobilized. I’ve seen them on the streets of DC and Arlington, and I’ve also seen the same for the Clinton and Obama campaigns. Sadly, I’ve seen nothing from the RNC and/or McCain camp.

If the RNC and McCain campaign doesn’t start rolling out their mobilization efforts soon, I’m afraid that many volunteers are going to be turned off from helping, simply because they see the massive army that the left has amassed.

Recruiting volunteers is probably the easiest part of a campaign, however, if you don’t engage them immediately, the odds of them helping out when you really need them are quite slim.

Celebrity McCain supporters make their way to DC

Update (10/24): Heidi Montog and Spencer Pratt release new Palin pictures

I’m not normally one to get caught up in pop culture, but when Heidi Montag, feux-celebrity from MTV’s “The Hills” stated that she was supporting John McCain for President, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on this story.

As anyone in DC knows, a few days ago was the White House Correspondents dinner, which usually has a variety of celebrities representing various causes and/or political agendas.

This year was no different, Pamela Anderson was there promoting animal rights, as a guest of PETA and Jenny McCarthy was there promoting a march that she was organizing in June.

Then of course there are your random musicians, like the Jonas Brothers, who usually are just invited by their labels or agents to get some good PR.

But this year just got weirder when Heidi Montag and her weird boyfriend Spencer Pratt showed up as guests of Fortune Magazines editor, Andy Serwer. While Heidi and Spencer are definitely an odd couple, finding out that there is a connection between those two and Fortune Magazine is even more baffling.

Anyway, here are some shots of them being tourists in DC. If you live in DC, you probably find these pictures just as obnoxious as I do, but some of you might find it interesting.

Despite Heidi Montag’s support for Senator McCain, I somehow doubt she made any effort to swing by the Headquarters to make some phone calls.

(Images via celebrity-gossip.net)

Click here for more DC pictures

Bush takes on Congress: Will it do anything?

Today President Bush gave an address from the Rose Garden at the White House where he held nothing back in expressing his frustration with the current Congress and their inability to work issues out, instead just resulting in using political tactics to block key programs.

Particularly, President Bush used this criticism to address the financial crisis facing the United States (courtesy of CNN.com):

“I repeatedly submitted proposal to help address the problems. Time after time, Congress chose to block them,” he said.

Bush called on Congress to send him sensible and effective bills to keep the country moving forward before taking questions from reporters.

I really hope this isn’t President Bush’s way of saying that he would hope for more bailouts of corporations and individuals who are facing financial troubles.

It was after all, President Bush who pushed hard for Congress to agree on a stimulus package, which in the opinion of many conservatives was an extremely wasteful idea that will probably have little impact on the economy.

However, in the same press conference, President Bush also went after Congress for even considering passing the Farm Bill, which has become even heavier in farm subsidies, increasing the burden on the American taxpayer.

Finally, President Bush made the effort to try and set the tone for Congress as his Presidency winds down:

Bush asked Congress to focus on four areas: energy, food prices, mortgage payments and student loans. The president urged Congress to pass legislation that would lead to more affordable and reliable energy at home.

While I give President Bush credit for calling out Congress, these directives sound almost exactly like the pitch the Democrats were giving the American people when they cleaned up shop in the 2006 elections.

Calling out Congress is extremely important when the country is in financial turmoil, but I think it’s also extremely important that when the President speaks, that he has more substance and addresses the real problems that are at hand.

Instead of telling Congress to address these issues, President Bush should have told Congress what specific things he would like to see, what he would be open to signing, and what things he isn’t going to cave in on.

This is his last term and he has absolutely nothing to lose.

I would argue that this is probably one of the few opportunities where the Republicans didn’t have to cave into the pressures of the Democrats, in fear of losing political points.

Before President Bush leaves office, I’d love for him to tell Congress that he will only support packages that are based on substance and real need for ALL Americans, not just small populations, or special interests. While it wont be the most popular action in his presidency, it will set a tone that Republicans can and will stand up to frivolous spending, and actually try and use fiscal restraint to try and get this countries economy back on track.

Bailouts, subsidies and pork-projects aren’t going to fix the economy, however prudence and cutbacks will put us on the right course.

U.S. barracks more primitive than those in Iraq?

Not once did I ever imagine there being evidence to actually support the claim that barracks being built for foreign armies, funded by the American taxpayer are actually in better shape than some of the barracks our troops have to stay in here in the United States.

However, CNN.com released a story today that not only brought forward accusations of poor conditions in barracks, but actually presented video and images to back up those claims.

Check out this video sent to CNN by the father of soldier who returned from Afghanistan:

Now, I know that this is the military, where “roughing it” is often an assumed way of life, but you cant help but wonder why the military wouldn’t want to ensure that these troops returning (many who will be deployed again) would have comfortable accommodations to help them bring their minds back from battle, or at least ease the stress they have endured on the battlefield.

But, I think there is some light at the end of this tunnel. Instead of taking the all-to-common “no comment,” the Army released a statement:

“The conditions depicted in Mr. Frawley’s video are appalling and unacceptable, and we are addressing the concerns he expressed,” said Maj. Tom Earnhardt, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne, in a written statement.

I don’t think our troops are expecting the Ritz-Carlton when they come back from battle (though they deserve it), but it shouldn’t be difficult to provide them with simple amenities that are less-primitive than the near third-world countries they are returning from.

I know a lot of the blame can fall on the contractors who were requested to fix this, and I would hope that after this story broke those contractors were fired immediately, and new guys brought in.

Spitzers Hooker Sues Girls Gone Wild?

I honestly thought that this whole Spitzer/Hooker/Girls Gone Wild thing was something that would only last a few days, fading away with Ashley Dupree getting a spread in Playboy or something.

Throughout all of the many twists and turns this story had, at no point did I ever imagine that Ashley Dupree would actually have her legal team file a lawsuit against Joe Francis’ Girls Gone Wild empire.

The hooker is suing for $10million, claiming that that she was illegally exploited on the Girls Gone Wild website following “hooker-gate.”

Is this high-priced hooker actually claiming that she was exploited by the actions of Girls Gone Wild? Is that even possible? I’m pretty sure when you agree to do Girls Gone Wild, should expect that exploitation is naturally going to be the next step.

She’s not claiming that she was exploited when she agreed to do the videos, nor when she got naked and did a variety of things on camera. No, instead she’s more concerned with how Girls Gone Wild portrayed her in marketing materials on their website.

To be honest, I have no clue how this is going to turn out, but I really hope that Joe Francis’ legal team fights this one (though I know they are busy). When you agree to do Girls Gone Wild, there should be an understanding of what is going to happen. This isn’t something that is unexpected, and I’m sure for many Girls Gone Wild participants, it’s probably one of the reasons that agree to do it.

I think Joe Francis sums this up best in his interview with CNN.com:

Francis said Monday he and his company “have nothing to worry about.”

“But I think it’s ironic that she charged Gov. Spitzer $2,000 for sex and she wants to charge me 10 million for taking some naked pictures of her,” Francis told CNN. “I feel like I’m getting a raw deal.”

Touché Mr. Francis.