Here in BusinessWeek this week is the most comprehensive special report on web politics in a mainstream magazine that I have seen recently–what I especially value is that it focuses heavily on Republicans and conservatives as well as liberals (like myself). The writers declare George Bush far ahead of the Democrats:
Still, President Bush holds a strong tech lead. The Republicans have a 3-to-1 edge in e-mail addresses and a finely tuned Web site aimed at organizing rather than fund-raising. In December, GeorgeWBush.com rolled out a service that rewards people with mugs and signed photos of Bush if they hit targets, such as signing up 10 volunteers or registering five voters. Over the past seven weeks, the number of volunteers has more than tripled, to 280,000. Such tactics have helped the campaign build an e-mail list bulging with 6 million names. Chuck DeFeo, Bush’s e-campaign manager, says the Net strategy is focused on getting people “to take action.”
(BusinessWeek, March 29, 2004, :”Click the Vote” special report)
