Jack & Jill Politics

And no I don’t mean that O. Gawd, you have a disgusting mind…

I’m talking bout Obama’s Online Operation. Jose Antonio Vargas just rapped to me about his profile of the Triple O in the Washington Post. Obama’s using the internet to cut around the media filters and distortions and go straight to the people with a peer-to-peer approach.

[Kate] Albright-Hanna says. “Here, we don’t worry about how many views our videos get. That’s not the priority. One of our goals is to get people talking about what’s going on in their lives and why they’re supporting Barack — and hopefully not only will they watch the videos but also comment on them and forward them to relatives and friends and co-workers.”

Last year, when reporters and pundits saw Clinton as the front-runner for the nomination, Albright-Hanna’s team tried to capture how Obama’s excited supporters were organizing. In December, weeks before the Iowa caucuses, a two-minute video was posted telling the story of Helen Kwan, an Obama precinct captain in Bettendorf, and Lilah Bell, a 99-year-old Obama volunteer who planned to caucus for the first time. “This is primarily Republican,” says Kwan, a 46-year-old mother of five. “But I have about eight strong volunteers, probably closer to 10 strong volunteers.” Obama never appears in the video, which has been viewed more than 11,000 times — just his campaign logo.

The pattern has continued during the general election campaign, when most news reports zero in on the day’s tit-for-tat. Never mind the polls, these videos seem to say, this is what’s happening in various homes and communities.

He’s also dominating the competition and drowning out their messaging with sheer volume. Smart move.

The videos are also used to bypass the news media. In June, Obama announced his decision to opt out of public financing in an almost three-minute video that’s been viewed more than 345,000 times. Recently, a policy adviser in the campaign was featured in a three-minute “fact checking” video— now viewed about 117,000 times — rebutting McCain’s attacks on Obama.

Together, the videos on Obama’s YouTube channel have been viewed nearly 52 million times, according to TubeMogul.com, which tracks online videos. A viewer watching a video on the channel has an option to click on a “Contribute” button and, using a credit card, donate an amount from $15 to $1,000 using Google Checkout. McCain’s channel, whose videos have been viewed 9.5 million times, doesn’t offer this option.

Now if he can just get back on track with a strong visionary message that restores American dreams and morals for a just, prosperous and free society that takes care of its young and old — we’ll be all set.