Do Political Naturals Suck at YouTube?
by Patrick Ruffini :: April 15th, 2007 6:30 pmThat’s kind of the thought I had after Hillary Clinton’s campaign posted this video of Bill soliciting funds at the end of the quarter:
I don’t need to tell you how good a speaker Bill Clinton is. If nothing else, I’ll give you that. But this is just… underwhelming. And it’s not that Bill is off his game — the long pauses, the faux-earnestness is classic Clinton. They just don’t come across well on YouTube, a one-to-one, conversational medium. Had we had YouTube in 1996, a lot more people would have come to the conclusion that this guy is a phony.
And here we have Tony Blair, in a video just released, looking pretty awkward. Again, it’s not that he’s not a good speaker (he’s probably the best since Reagan), it’s that Internet video carries a different set of imperatives:
I think the lesson here for politicians is to just be yourself. If you’re best at big, set-piece speeches, post the best bits on YouTube. Don’t get baited into being all intimate and conversational. Reagan probably wouldn’t have been good at YouTube.
(Via PrezVid.)
Tagged: bill clinton 
tony blair video youtube
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Alway interested in selling the sizzle. I’m a Republican Campaign photograher that might shock you…take a look at my sight.
wrote blog on thier site the other week
http://www.sandiegorepublicans.org/press/index.cfm/ID/89.htm
I enjoy your site
BB
Or maybe it’s because you already think President Clinton is a phony? He comes across fine to me, like usual, whereas the usually articulate Tony Blair comes off more like his current U.S. counterpart.