More discussion questions!

1) Mr. Strother talked about how after he went to the Obama rally he began receiving "personalized" emails based on his age, income level, etc. I believe Eddie also mentioned in after the study group, but it seems that Obama has utilized this campaign to perfect the art of microtargeting. Do you think that the McCain campaign suffered from their lack of microtargeting? Did Obama overdo the microtargeting? Also, as Eddie mentioned, some members of our class had a somewhat negative attitude towards microtargeting. Has your opinion changed with this campaign or do you still feel like it is one step too far?

2) Mr. Strother said that in some places nearly 30 or 40% of the population turned out for early voting, suggesting the idea that perhaps in future elections we will not so much have an "Election day" as we will a "election month." How will campaigns have to adjust their advertising strategies to ensure that their reach as many voters as possible before they cast their ballot? Do you think that the "late October surprise" that we have joked about will become non-existent?

3) Finally, we have all recognized what a historic event this election is. Not only was the first black man elected President of the United States, but for the first time a woman had a viable chance at the entering the executive sphere as well. What aspects of this campaign will live onto make history books in the future? Do you think Palin's poor showing in the campaign will discourage the GOP from stepping outside the box again? Do you think that the glass ceiling has been shattered, or was this just a pure publicity stunt on the part of McCain. (I know the questions I am asking are very black/white, but I'm curious as to the implications for the future of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the future.) Was Palin a one-hit wonder, or will the nomination of a female running mate become a common thing?