Dude, Where’s My Election?

by Dan Haley | August 9, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Have you ever been reading a story about Obama in Time or Newsweek and thought, "Ok, this story is good but it would be better if it were much shorter and written from a fratty perspective?" If you have then you should definitely check out Brobama.org, a website put together by bros Lee Cooper and Scott Henning, both Dartmouth '09. These bros (who are, in fact, brothers in the Alpha Delta fraternity of "Animal House" fame) were interning in DC this summer and decided there was a need for a site to "translate campaign coverage and political news for people our age who might not otherwise be interested."

The site breaks a news story down into three elements: "News," "Context," and "What This Means for the Common Bro." For instance:

News: McCain's age more of an issue than Obama's race.

Context: 23% of Americans think McCain's age would make him less effective as a president

What This Means for the Common Bro: Can a dude still be your bro if he's old enough to be your granddad? The significance of age is debatable, but Obama's choice of V.P. will be more important now.

Presenting Obama as the bro's choice for president is arguably something Obama's campaign could stand to do a better job of. In that sense, Cooper and Henning's site helps reinvent Obama as a regular guy. And who better to do this than two media-savvy Ivy Leaguers?

Meet them in this interview conducted by Robyn Schneider:

1. Dudes, how'd you come up with the idea for the site?

Young voters and campaign organizers have already made their marks on this election cycle. But there's still a perception that young voters rally around candidates, particularly Obama, without any real appreciation of their policies and goals. We decided to take it upon ourselves to create a space where the newest generation of voters could be exposed to campaign issues that affect them. We've found a lot of voters our age who don't find popular political media as accessible and appealing to them as it should be. There's a startling lack of apbropriate brocabulary in the mainstream media today.

Interview continues after the jump.

2. Where do you envision brobama.org going/is there a plan?

First of all, it's not going anywhere. It's on the internet and it's there to stay. I haven't seen it move for weeks. The plan is for brobama.org to be the go-to site for any college student looking for information on the 2008 campaign, with a focus on Obama. There are plenty of voters our age who have shown support for a particular candidate, the key now is to get them to the point where they can hold their own in a low-key political debate. We want the bros and bro-ettes who normally drift through college feeling disenfranchised to really understand how the election is going to impact their lives. If Obama is elected, we'll look to expand the site to include broader coverage of the executive branch and politics in general.

3. Who would you (and the common bros) like to see as VP on the Dem. ticket? Why?

(Couldn't we get a few more softballs before this question, Ms. Schneider?) While we do presume to speak to the common bros, we won't presume to speak for them. There are a lot of good looking options for VP out there, and given Obama's current lead in the polls, he shouldn't be pressured into an unwise selection. We plan on discussing specific VP options in updates over the coming weeks.

4. Would you/have you sent Barack Obama your baby?
No. I don't want my kid writing a tell-all book called The Audacity of my Father.

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One Response to “Dude, Where’s My Election?”

  1. Cor-not Says:
    August 10th, 2008 at 11:01 am

    “We decided to take it upon ourselves to create a space where the newest generation of voters could be exposed to campaign issues that affect them”

    No, they’ve created a space where the newest generation of voters can find out about Obama and how Obama fits in to those “important issues”. As for getting “them to the point where they can hold their own in a low-key political debate”, all they will really be able to do is recite whatever these guys say about Obama. That is not creating an informed voter, it’s creating a pull-cord speaking doll.

    I’m certainly not a McCain fan, but to parade this site around as some sort of great educational source for young adults is just plain silly. The question is whether the creators recognize this and simply don’t care, or whether they actually believe they are helping inform the youth. If the former, then whatever, same old shit. If the latter, then they are simply adding to the frenzy that has allowed there to be “plenty of voters our age who have shown support for a particular candidate” yet apparently are unable to “hold their own in a low-key political debate.” I would then have to ask whether they actually didn’t expect their Ivy League bros to see this and call them out on it. Or are we supposed to just turn a blind eye and click away, since it is pro Obama and we all love him? Is that the tacit agreement among politically active young people today?

    I’d love to comment further on the content of the site, but the page isn’t loading. I’m definitely not impressed by the example given here. There is absolutely no explanation as to how McCain’s age and the cited poll connects to Obama’s choice of VP. Even in a low-key debate, that’s probably an important bit to know.

    And while I’m at it, wtf is up with this coverage, IvyGate? Four questions and the last one hardly makes sense, let alone comedy.

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