I was half asleep on the couch in the basement, with the TV watching me more than I was watching it when Larry King's baritone announced just after midnight that CNN sources had confirmed that Joseph Biden, a longtime senator from Delaware, would be Barack Obama's running mate.
If only I had signed up for that damn text message, I said to myself, I would already know this. But the CNN reporter on the screen must have been reading my mind, declaring that the text messages the Obama campaign had promised to send to their supporters and donors had not gone out yet. It seemed the publicity gimmick touted by the campaign the last few weeks had worked a little too well, with news crews and well wishers staking out the homes of those candidates who were on Obama's vice presidential short list last night. The loose lips from an insider ultimately leaked the information, just hours before the massive wave of text messages were set to be sent.
Then again, if I'd signed up, I could have already received fake Obama text announcements touting Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Walter Mondale, Tim Kaine, and even Michael Phelps - how could I be sure which announcement was real?
I don't know if there was any irony intended, but the REAL text messages, the ones naming Joseph Biden as Obama's vice presidential pick, went out to supporters and donors around 3 am, shortly after the announcement was posted on the website. I imagined thousands of cellphones across the country buzzing, blinking or vibrating in the middle of the night.
What did this long awaited text message say?
- Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!
— Obama campaign text message to supporters.
The media beat them to the punch. I think if they had sent the emails & text messages ealier in the week, they would have succeeded in circumventing the media. I think this was a ploy to get telephone numbers and e-mail address. I guess they won on that front.
ReplyDeleteYou have to wonder who it was that leaked the info - I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but I was never excited about Obama merging key members of Clinton's staff into his organization.
ReplyDeleteIt could have worked, but they got a little too coy, and Obama, ever Mr. Gracious, was a little to leisurely in calling those who were not selected - why not tell them all at once, in a rapid fire session that could be done in ten minutes, one right after the other, predawn on Friday, with a early morning text blast to follow.
Still a good show though - gave their people a little tingle in a slow week, even if they weren't able to deliver.
So I didn't really miss a thing by not getting a text message after all.