Selecting a running made not only offers a candidate an executive opportunity, it also allows him or her to refocus the campaign’s image.  Discussions of Joe Biden or Sarah Palin will be framed in the context and qualities of his or her selector.

Twitter was aflutter with discussion of Sarah Palin this morning. The cable news networks have quickly followed, trying to describe the rationale for her pick in terms of the John McCain. But going forward, as converage moves back to McCain, his pick will also reflect back on him.

As the candidate of change and hope, Barack Obama had the opportunity to affirm the sincerity of that message with his selection. Instead, the Obama campaign wheeled right and showed a new, much more aggressive image. Biden was immediately slotted for an attack role, but it didn’t stop there. Obama followed, focusing a great deal on McCain in his Thursday speech. This quick and well executed turn signals that, unlike in the past, Democrats will respond to attacks. It may also allay criticisms of Obama as being unprepared to lead. A more assertive Obama - one willing to pick a fighter and go after McCain - will appear stronger and more presidential.

Throughout the summer, McCain has run on a message of “ready to lead”. Right now, the McCain camp is furiously working to rebrand its entire campaign. Deeming experience enough to close the gap, but not enough to win the election, McCain has pivoted on the issue of reform and emerges again as the reformer he was once known as. Palin brings congruence to the maverick image, both in her own story and in the story of McCain picking her. As pundits and voters examine Palin’s record and story, each item will be understood in terms of McCain’s legacy of independence and penchant for boldness. I expect to hear a lot more on these qualities going forward.

The selections do mark a tremendous shift in tactics for both candidates - and potentially a risky one, especially for Republicans. While Americans may not vote on vice presidential candidates, the story has been refreshed and campaign strategy remapped.

The Next Right’s Matt Moon describes CNN’s coverage. Dana Bash cues on McCain’s storytelling style.

In the post-forum coverage, Dana Bash of CNN had a great observation on the two candidates’ styles: Obama decided to have a conversation with Rick Warren, and looked at Warren in each of his answers, which probably contributed to his defensiveness. McCain decided to have a conversation with the audience, and in turn with the country, when he answered his questions.

Moon draws the same connection as I do, reflecting upon this.

McCain’s shining moments came when he told stories: the story of his decision to stay behind in Vietnam to allow a soldier who was captured before him to be set free; the story of his family’s decision to adopt a Bangladeshi daughter; etc. Which goes to this larger point: voters don’t connect with policy, nuance or academia; they connect with stories.

The left is putting its readings on notice. Talking Point’s Memo, in discussing the coverage, also focuses on the stories McCain told.

Some on-air pundits say McCain was the winner last night when both men appeared at the Sddleback [sic] megachurch in Orange County, California. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said that McCain “solidified his ties to the evangelical community,” while Jake Tapper said that McCain “won over this crowd” with tales about his POW captivity — you know, the topic we keep hearing McCain is reluctant to discuss.

While not explicitly mentioning McCain’s delivery, the Washington Posts The Fix lauds McCain for his story selection.

A contrast that Republicans had to be happy about came when Warren asked each candidate for their most gut-wrenching decision in their lives. Obama chose his decision to oppose the war in Iraq. McCain said it was his choice to remain as a prisoner of war despite an offer from his captors to, in effect, jump the line. McCain’s life story is as powerful, if not more powerful, than that of any other politician in public life. While Obama’s answer was sound, it dealt with a challenge in the political arena; McCain’s decision served as evidence that he has lived his “country first” campaign slogan.

In a race that has seen both candidates accused of altering their views and platform in order to attract support, authenticity could become an important issue. The American public seems more willing to forgive someone who has had an honest change of heart than someone’s whose policy proposals change with the polls. The ability to compel an audience with the right story may be one way for McCain to seize the campaign’s narrative and edge Obama out on authenticity.

To a great extent, it is an image problem. When I mention the Republicans and the internet to my friends, a joke about a “series of tubes” is inevitable (still no mentions of Twitter from them yet).

I’m still amazed to listen to this. “I just, the other day, got - an internet was sent by my staff” is just not going to work. At least it was a viral success. To most youth voters, Republicans are old and laden with special interests. While this is an unappealing combination, it is amplified in the tech corner. McCain’s age casts him as “experienced” with foreign policy, but completely inept with technology.

Yet it doesn’t have to be. There is still room for this narrative to be rewritten. As David All points out at the RightOnline summit, many elements of Republican philosophy are well aligned with youth and net interests.

There is no one inspiring the youth anymore. So you’ve got all these youth out there who are concerned because they like hope and change and cool and hip and they want to be a part of the Abercrombie generation that’s standing behind them, but then we find out facts like 70% of high school students want to be entrepreneurs… So is there a way to pick up the youth by tapping into that entrepreneurial spirit which i believe the republican party used to own that mantle? I believe so.

Entrepreneurship, however, is a vague issue, without any single driving policy debate.

Net neutrality, as an issue, does not suffer from this problem. While the jury still seems out on whether regulating freedom comports with traditional Republican philosophies, the argument certainly can be made, and should be. Embracing net neutrality offers Republicans the opportunity the begin to differentiate its pro entrepreneurial positions from its pro business initiatives and younger voters frequently conflate the former for the latter.

The McCain campaign doesn’t see it so, however. Releasing its platform on technology today, the McCain camp maintains its opposition to government mandated network neutrality. “John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like “net-neutrality,” but rather he believes that an open marketplace with a variety of consumer choices is the best deterrent against unfair practices.” Despite this, the post insists that “John McCain has always believed the government’s role must be rooted in protecting consumers. He championed laws that penalized fraudulent marketing practices, protected kids from harmful Internet content, secured consumer privacy, and sought to minimize spam.”

Taken together, these two positions seem suspiciously incongruous. While I think the network neutrality debate is more complicated than most, McCain has an opening here. Recasting the net neutrality debate in terms of Republican support for small business could be an important first step in reestablishing the Republican brand online. As it stand, this appears to be another concession to large telecommunication companies.

As an aside, will no one but Jack Welch stand up for big businesses? Check out a great exchange between him and Barack Obama on CNBC here (first video).

There is too much ignoring of the good solid companies out there with good solid workers out there doing their job… and bashing them as if they’re bricks and mortar. These companies are not just names, not just bricks and mortar. They’re human beings. They make 60, 70 thousand dollars a year. They come in and fight everyday for a better job and I think they’re being ignored and treated in the wrong way by bashing them as if they’re just a name. They’re a “drug company.”

Primary Tactics

Early in the primary campaign, Barack Obama didn’t need to say much to project the underdog image. The raw hubris of the Hillary Clinton campaign did most of the work for him. John McCain’s embarrassing revenue probem last summer along with stagnant poll numbers had him left for dead.

Yet both candidates found strength in their ultimate resurgence and its contrast with prior expectations. For McCain, this was familiar territory. The story was much the same as his 2000 primary victory in New Hampshire (though it went further this time around). The party in general experimented with the tactic, as the entire Republican field played underdog to Mitt Romney’s personal wealth.

On the Democratic side, Hillary made her play for dark horse status as well, though much later. Rapidly falling behind Obama in delegate count, she recast herself as a “fighter” whose best work was done with her back to the wall. In Pennsylvania, both camps fought to claim the Rocky narrative.

The Darker Horse?

Since the start of the general election, the fight for underdog status has intensified. Recent appeals from both camps are strikingly explicit. Over the past week, the campaigns have been directly arguing with one another over who is currently less likely to win. Behind in the polls and even in money (if you exclude national committee tallies), McCain has sought to alloy his honest, straight talk style with a frank assessment of his “underdog” status.

In the past week alone, McCain has redoubled his efforts, describing Obama both as a celebrity and an idol of divine proportions. Obama doesn’t take the ground, though. He does the opposite, claiming that he will be the underdog until the day he is sworn in “for reasons you might consider apparent”.

Since then, Obama has attempted to further discount his changes by describing himself as outside the traditional candidate mold. Whether or not one thinks the comments are racially charged (as some have alleged), preemptively responding to attacks by simply indicating that they’re likely isn’t a particularly strong move. It is just another play for underdog status.

An Unassuming Asset

That a candidate could attract and energize supporters because she or he is behind and unpopular is difficult to explain rationally. Nevertheless, there is an intuitive appeal to the hero who is behind but won’t give up. This is an old and powerful story. For the story to work, it does require a certain personal tenacity and the sense that something important is on the line, but both Obama and McCain can claim this.

If nothing else, it is also a remarkable turn from the way the primaries opened and how other presidential campaigns have been run. Perhaps it is in some way a reflection on the faltering confidence Americans have in their country. Surely it will be an additional asset if one side can secure the imagery for himself. In all likelihood, this dispute will be carried straight through to November.

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Spam Blacklists

OUCH! My VPS got black-listed! Somehow the Spamhaus XBL list decided to black list the IP address of the server. Probably because I had port 25 opened in the firewall and somebody has taken advantage of my lack-of-linux-sysadmin-skills to start relaying spams. CRAP! Yahoo outrightly refused any SMTP connection from my server because it was marked as a spammer-wannabe .

Content and Formatting

Immediately I found myself awash in hundreds of potential templates. I spent weeks paging through thousands of themes. The vastness of offerings led me to believe the perfect theme might lie somewhere just beyond the “next page” button. The task quickly consumed far more time than crafting a custom theme would have. When I finally picked a theme, extensive modifications and fixes were still required. On the whole, my experience of searching for a theme was miserable.

I’ve had similar experiences in the past searching for fonts as well. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so selective. I recently helped a friend setup a blog. He happily picked a theme by his second page of browsing. I feel strongly about the power of visual particulars, though.

Theme Searching

In theory, this problem should fall within the domain of search. Yet no search or filter helped me. I didn’t have any tangible requirements, such as the color or number of columns. While some offered more functionality or plugin support than others, I knew I could add anything I needed myself.

That isn’t to say I did not know what I wanted, though. While my requirements were conceptually abstract, they were highly specific. I knew the exact style of aesthetic I wanted, the questions of color, form and functionality aside.

Search Beyond Linear Text

This problem I encountered appears to be growing. Search in general is getting better. Most of my queries yield immediate answers. The majority of searches are becoming more efficient, but not all. Tragically, the areas of the web growing fastest fall beyond the reach of Google et al. User generated artistic content (such as themes, fonts, photos, texture), along with content generated with the context of a social graph is all understood differently from normal long text.

What does a search engine do with the comment “great idea!” unless it can understand that comments relationship to other entities within that context - a context which may span blogs, Twitter and Facebook. How does a search engine even know what I want when I look for a theme? There are no clear proxy variables.

Generating ad Hoc Proxy Variables

Recommendation engines may be able to solve part of the second problem. If a user likes the style of another person, he or she could weight recommendations based on what friends preferred. Just because I am looking for a professional, staid, open business theme one time doesn’t mean I will be looking for that in the future, however. Search engines will have to begin generating their own data from the start of every query instead.

First, present the user with panels of designs. An individual could begin to indicate the style he or she prefers. Such as system would have to be nonlinear, though. Frequently there are a few different sub-styles that appeal to me within a larger search. These tracks would need to be maintained separately, as they are usually immiscible, if only subtly distinct. Results would need to be present alone side one another. People aren’t going to want to do a bunch of different searches, especially if each one requires a bunch of input.

Of course the inner workings of such a recommendation engine are an entirely separate issue. Some promising advances have been made in image search, however, which makes me think this is possible in the near future, if not presently.