REVIEW: The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

As many of you know, I'm an avid West Wing watcher. I've probably seen every episode a few times. The reasons are many. For one, the acting is wonderful. The writing is exceptional and plots are both realistic and fantastic. Most of all, however, I find myself continuously intrigued by the many forces that pull on politicians at the highest ranks in their effort to serve both their constituents as well as their own ambitions. Mr. Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, provides a similar view on such forces and, similarly to the fictional President Bartlet, makes one yearn for a political candidate that seems to truly represent the many feelings most of us share about politics.

The Audacity of Hope is not what I expected. When I cracked open the book I looked to find one politician's manifesto - written to advance his bid for the next office. Instead, I found a cross between a biography and window on political life ...interspersed, of course, with tidbits of political speak that refer back to Mr. Obama's platform. On the whole, however, the book is both well written and interesting; one that you will want to finish once you start. 

Just like the reasons for which many believe The West Wing was so popular, it provides the reader with hope for what our leadership could be. It provides us with hope for what government can be. I don't agree with everything for which Mr. Obama argues in his book, but I did find myself marveling at his ability to empathise and play devil's advocate on many of the issues he does address. It is this simple act that attracts me to him as a candidate for the American Presidency.

I am naive, or so I've been told. It's likely true. I always like to believe that people are good and that what they say are either true or are believed to be true when said. Mr. Obama never made me feel otherwise. Politicians, of course, are known for speaking the words and ideas that their constituents want to hear - I am not so naive to not acknowledge this. I will say, however, that I have found that Mr. Obama convincing.

When speaking on subjects in which we don't truly believe or understand, there is a tendency for anyone to speak in broad generalities and use metaphors to relate the listener or reader to the ideas presented. When we speak on subjects about which we truly believe, however, we have a tendency to use our own experiences from which we learned the lessons we hope to share with others. Mr. Obama's The Audacity of Hope comes across as the latter and if his words are only partly representative of the President he may become, then it is no wonder that he has been so successful in organizing such broad support for his campaign cost to coast.

Hillary Clinton $11 million in the Red - Personally!

From my years of watching The West Wing I knew about the campaign finance provision that allows candidates to loan personal funds to their campaigns. What I didn't know, however, was that there was a time limit for by when the candidate can recoup those loans by raising money as a candidate. That time limit is their party's nomination. With the August democratic convention nearing, Clinton has only a few months reaming to come-up with a whopping $11 million that she has loaned to her campaign!

Why is this interesting? Well, on the surface it's interesting to hear the kinds of sums of money that are involved - even as a personal loan from a candidate. The real news, however, is what this may mean for the democratic race for the nomination. Depending on how significant $11 million is to the Clintons, Mrs. Clinton may be tempted to back-out of the race and back Mr. Obama in exchange for some financial support. This, of course, would end the inter-party bickering and allow Mr. Obama to finally set his sights on the White House. Of course, having earned over $100 million since the start of this decade, the Clinton's aren't exactly struggling - even if they do need to walk away from their loan.

The law states that Mr. Obama would not be able to help Mrs. Clinton directly, but there is nothing that prevents him from looking to his record-breaking fundraising base to do so. Of course, with his own need to raise further funds in preparation for the national campaign following the convention, he may hold his own interests in priority to those of his rival.

Money makes the world go around. The same is true for politics. The fact that Mrs. Clinton is having difficulty raising funds and has had to resort to personal loans means that she has lost support among her backers. This, of course, is an indicator of where that support may have gone. With Mr. Obama now leading in both the super delegate race as well as the popular vote, it's not difficult to put one-and-one together.

Obama's Mailing List - It's not what you know...

I read an interesting article on Bloombert (here's the link) that spoke about Barack Obama's most valuable asset developed over the course of his Presidential campaign: his mailing list. Two million people have not only sent Mr. Obama their hard earned money, but they have given him, and his campaign, their personal contact information - information that may prove to be Mr. Obama's ace-in-the-hole regardless of the outcome of the Democratic convention.

Via his own website as well as via social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace, Barack Obama has a marketing database that has allowed him to fill stadiums with supporters from coast-to-coast. Whether as a gold mine for future candidates looking to raise funds or as a powerful communication tool, the article goes on to explain how this mailing list will make him a power broker in the Democratic party for years to come. The only real thing that's surprising about this, however, is that it took the politicians this long to figure out what every teenager new already for years.

It's who you know and Mr. Obama knows a lot of people willing to part with their money in support of a candidate that they favor. He also happens to know a few techies. Chris Hughes, a 24-year-old Facebook co-founder is a full-time campaign staffer and helped create Mr. Obama's own website. Via the site, they've put every new member to work as a member of the campaign creating a quasi-pyramid scheme working to build on the campaign's success.

You really have to commend the Obama campaign for taking advantage of the tools out there. There's no way to know how much of a role this has played in the differential between the Obama and Clinton campaigns, but the fact that the Barack Obama Facebook site has about 5-times the number of friends is hard to overlook.

Now, from the perspective of a business guy, how can this approach to building a brand help other businesses and business people?