We’re only two days away from the 2008 presidential election and we have one last commentary from Sophia Nelson. Be sure to take a look at her interactive commentary on the last debate between Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama. Click the image below to launch the commentary:
1 comment November 2nd, 2008
By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch
For the past two months, I have had the distinct honor of working with a wonderful classroom of undergraduate students at The College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York City (my alma mater). Instructed by Dr. Joseph Skelly and Dr. Jacqueline Guzda, these students are studying the intersection of politics and communications.
Over the span of three in-person visits, I spoke with the students about lobbying, earmarks and the importance of the open government movement. Here at VoterWatch, we are increasingly interested in how young people in the American educational system understand and interpret these important issues. Furthermore, with the assistance of Dr. Skelly and Dr. Guzda, we were able to test the VoterWatch media player as a collaborative annotation tool in the classroom.
The students at The College of Mount Saint Vincent were, in fact, the first students in the nation to use the tool in this regard and the results are absolutely astounding. We divided the class into nine groups. In these groups, the students were assigned specific portions of the final presidential debate. Then, each group was responsible for inserting commentary — fact checks, corroborations, thoughts and perspective.
The final outcome of the students’ work showcases our tool’s educational value. We want to thank Dr. Skelly and Dr. Guzda for the honor of working with their students. Please click the image below to launch the commentary from the students at The College of Mount Saint Vincent. Send any questions or comments along to info@voterwatch.org:
1 comment October 24th, 2008
By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch
While the first two presidential debates were completely inadequate in terms of providing valuable information about candidate stances, the final debate was more open in terms of scope and communication. While still not subscribing to the recommendations that The Open Debate Coalition laid out, the final debate did provide a more informative forum.
While we are happy to have Dick Morris and our “regulars” on board for this final debate, we are even more excited to announce that The Heritage Foundation and Reason Magazine have decided to participate in our final installment of the 2008 Presidential Debates Project.
Rob Bluey of The Heritage Foundation did an amazing job inserting commentary using the VoterWatch media player. Bluey brings a robust presentation of thought and perspective to the best debate of the bunch. I’m sure you’ll find the resulting product intriguing. Also, be sure to see the annotation posted on the Heritage site as well as Bluey’s piece about VoterWatch and the player on K Street Cafe. Or, to simply view the commentary, click the image below:
2 comments October 18th, 2008
With the final debate comes Dick Morris’ last VoterWatch media player commentary this electoral season. We must say that we were honored to have Dick on board for this important project. His commentary brought in unbelievably interesting perspective. To see Dick’s final commentary, click the image below. Also, be sure to visit his interactive web site for his free column and much more:
7 comments October 16th, 2008
Be sure to check out “Rate the Debates” following tonight’s debate! As per FreePress.net:
While anchors and pundits concentrate on how to spin the candidates’ performances in the upcoming debates, Free Press and the Tyndall Report want you to rate the media themselves. We have created a “Citizens Media Scorecard” so viewers can respond in real-time to the performance of the debate moderators.
Add comment October 15th, 2008
With the final debate only hours away, VoterWatch has been fast at work. Stay tuned to BloggingTheDebates.com for commentary from Dick Morris, Public Agenda and others over the next few days.
Also, we are privileged to be a part of The Open Debate Coalition — a group of influentials who have come together to encourage the McCain and Obama campaigns and the Presidential Debates Commission to make the debates more democratic. Be sure to check it out.
And one last announcement…VoterWatch launched TransparencyMatters.org (yesterday was the soft launch) for journalists, open government members and others who have a stake in the transparency movement. E-mail us at info@voterwatch.org for more information.
Add comment October 15th, 2008
By Danielle Lanzet, VoterWatch
In a funeral oration delivered by Pericles – a distinguished political leader and general of ancient Greece – for the men fallen in the first year of battle of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles asserted that “Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbors, but are an example to them.” Pericles believed Athenian democracy to just be intrinsically better than any other political system. In the Athenian government system, a man who did not take interest in the political sphere was not deemed harmless but rather useless. At that point in Athenian history, very few people possessed the ability to vote; in deeming a man who did not fulfill his duty to vote as inadequate and useless, Pericles portrayed and intensified the significance of using that power provided to a private citizen by the government.
Not too long ago, the fifteenth amendment prevented someone from being denied the right to vote because of race and the nineteenth amendment prohibited someone from being deprived of the right to vote on the account of sex. That was no easy feat to accomplish and required the commitment of countless men and women from across the country. However, the dedication and steadfastness of these people has seemed to dissipate into the fading text of yesteryear.
I continue to struggle to understand how people could have the ability to participate in the political process but do not. At the same time, I recognize that some remain indifferent to the whole ordeal and do not want to become involved. I would rather those people that remain apathetic or uninformed do not vote. However, by forfeiting that opportunity during election time, that individual should also surrender the right to complain and criticize the state of the political system. I cannot stand whining and crying about the political sphere when that individual has done nothing but give up his/her chance to be heard. Since when did disappointment + frustration = the right to complain – the action of voting.
While I may not agree with the proposed politician in each main party, I know that I must ultimately come to a decision as participating member of society. I also recognize that as a young, knowledgeable, urbane American citizen now capable to vote in a presidential election for the first time that I have the duty and the obligation to contribute to the political process. Remember that every vote does count.
William E. Simon, businessman and former Secretary of Treasury under Nixon and then Ford, asserted, “Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don’t vote.”
Add comment October 14th, 2008
By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch
If you missed it, be sure to check out commentary from Dick Morris and Public Agenda. This morning, Sophia Nelson has once again released her commentary using the VoterWatch media player. While she didn’t see the debate as a knock-out, she posits a win for McCain. Agree? Disagree? Watch her commentary and be sure to leave comments. Click below to see it:
Also, the Ralph Nader for President team infuses some much-needed relief from the two-party system! Click below to see what the team has to say about McCain and Obama during this week’s debate:
1 comment October 10th, 2008
By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch
Earlier today, we released Dick Morris’ commentary on this week’s presidential debate. Now, we’re excited to release the second round of perspective from one of America’s most trusted research and civic engagement organizations — Public Agenda.
Public Agenda can always be relied on to present a fair and balanced look at the issues, which is why VoterWatch is honored to have the organization on board for our Presidential Debates Project. Today, Scott Bittle (Executive Vice-President of Public Agenda) released commentary on the second presidential debate. Bittle had this to say about this the town hall-style forum:
Despite the criticism of the town hall format, in many ways the second presidential debate was more substantive than the first session, and dramatically more so than the vice presidential debate last week. (I mean the real one, not the SNL version). Political junkies often say the town hall debate just regurgitates old news, but for many voters who haven’t been paying attention and are just starting to think about the candidates, that’s useful information. (Even more useful, if we may be so bold, is our Voter’s Survival Kit, which points out many of the facts that the candidates skated over in the debate.)
In addition to insightful editorial and video commentary (using the VoterWatch media player, of course), Public Agenda also released a more general page devoted to the presidential debates. This interactive hub provides information on each debate, video commentary using the VoterWatch media player, links to debate transcripts, information on and links to Public Agenda’s insanely useful Voter Survival Kit (non-partisan election guides on a variety of subjects) and much more. Be sure to check out Public Agenda’s “Debates 2008″ page. You can also click below to watch Bittle’s commentary on the second presidential debate:
2 comments October 9th, 2008
For each of the debates, Dick Morris has been providing commentary using the VoterWatch media player. Today, we’re happy to report the official release of his thoughts and perspectives on Tuesday’s debate. With the town hall setting in mind, Morris offers some intriguing commentary on both McCain and Obama. As always, Morris’ perspective is more than interesting. Be sure to visit DickMorris.com and click below to view his commentary:
3 comments October 9th, 2008
