Who could resist a message headlined “Barack’s VP: Be the First to Know”?
Hundreds of thousands of Barack Obama supporters received that tantalizing pitch Sunday night in text messages and e-mails. It’s one of several ways the presumptive Democratic nominee is staying in the news even as he vacations and visits relatives in Hawaii.
“Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice” of running mate, campaign manager David Plouffe told people on Obama’s e-mail and cell phone lists. “Sign up today to be the first to know. You will receive an email the moment Barack makes his decision, or you can receive a text message on your mobile phone.”
Republican John McCain is aiming to take advantage of a week in which Obama is off the campaign trail. He plans to emphasize energy and jobs this week, though Russia’s invasion of Georgia could change his focus.
McCain is spending three days in Pennsylvania and Michigan, states that have gone Democratic in four consecutive presidential elections. He’ll also visit Colorado, which has gone Republican the past three elections but is now high on Obama’s target list.
On Monday, McCain visited a General Electric locomotive plant in Erie, Pa. He told about 120 workers that he was proud of labor-management cooperation that has produced new technology and jobs. “That’s what America should be doing,” he said, “sitting down together, labor and management, Republican and Democrat.”
Micah Sifry, co-founder of the blog Techpresident.com, says the Obama campaign is “charting new ground” in using cell phones to keep supporters interested and engaged. The offer to text the vice presidential news is “a big carrot to hand people,” he says.
Beyond that, like other candidates this year, Obama is in a constant quest to get more e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers. People who attend his rallies are asked…