Serious political-like stuff

Before I get into this post, I'll just disclose that I lean to the right. I know exactly who I'm voting for in the presidential race. I endorse the McCain/Palin in the presidential race, and I encourage you to vote for them as well, but more than that, I simply encourage you to vote and participate in the democratic process. In order to function at our best, we need to have citizens that exercise their civic rights.

I had originally planned to write a comparison of the preambles to the Republican and Democratic platform. Beyond all the hype, ads and spin, I believe that it's important to find out what each party believes and it would have been a truly excellent and almost scholarly comparison. However, I was surprised to find out that while the Republican platform is easily accessible via their website, a finalized version of the Democratic platform is not so easy to obtain. Draft copies can be found online, and I do recommend that you read both, but I don't feel it would be fair to compare a final version to a draft. While I can't necessarily say that the Republican platform wins due to forfeit, I must express my disappointment in the DNC for failing to make this document easily accessible.

However, in the search for the platform papers, I did find something else to review, their websites.

Websites being compared:

• RNC - http://www.gop.com/
• DNC - http://www.democrats.org/

Date of review: September 11th, 2008
I am reviewing the front pages only.

As you might expect, each website is themed in each party's traditional colors. The headers are very similar. They each have title graphics, links to join e-mail lists, a menubar and a link for Spanish speakers/readers. In addition, both sites have links for contributions, social networking links and each has graphics in memorial of 9/11.

In terms of web technology, the Republican site is more dynamic and makes use of more web technology. Their rotating panel sets them apart from the Dems.

Other differences:

• Each site has a Blog menu, the DNC has no subitems, while the RNC links to 5 different blogs, including 3 for the McCain campaign.
• Each party clearly is on the warpath against the opposite ticket. However, the Democrats are more aggressive in this area with 11 items/sections against McCain and/or Palin versus 4 items/sections on the Republican site.
• Both sites have sections aimed at specific populations. On the GOP side, it's called "Groups" and the DNC lists it as "People." The Republican list appears to be a subset of the Dems list with the exception of a section directed at "Catholics"... kinda interesting. The DNC attempts to appeal to 7 groups beyond the ones commonly shared with their conservative counterparts. They are: Asians, the disabled, LGBT, Native Americans, Rural Americans, Union members, and veterans/military.
• On the issues, both parties address health care, energy, retirement/social security, national security and tax reform. However, each has sections for issues pertinent to them. In additional to those just listed, the GOP has sections for Faith & Values, Education, Jobs & Economy, Legal Reform and Nominations. The DNC has sections for Open Government, Science & Technology, Environment & Climate Change, Immigration Reform and Civil Rights and Liberties.
• Oddly enough, each site has more images of their opponent on the front page than their own candidate. The Republican site does have John McCain and Sarah Palin on their rotator, keeping him above the fold, but only when that panel rotates into view. The Dems site has a static image of Obama and Biden, but it's in the form of a web-sticker that is part of the footer on the site.

Visually, the Dem site is less cluttered and cleaner than the Republican site. Aesthetically, I would have to give the edge to the DNC for making the site easy to quickly read and review.

Overall, both sites have their strong points, both from a political and purely analytical standpoint. In additional, I would like to note that I think some of each site's design was modified for 9/11, so that may skew the results slightly. In my opinion, the RNC's site has the slight edge, since it maintains its ability to stay on message and keep looking forward by effectively using web technology. However, it should be noted that this edge is very slight. The DNC from a universal appeal point of view seems to handily beat the Republicans. They have sections that appeal to far more groups (although the practice of fracturing groups is questionable). They also make social networking with other dems much more simple and straightforward. I think the DNC would clearly win this tug-of-war if it reduced screenspace focused on McCain attacks and focused more on its strategy and plans.

In the end, it's not really what I think, but what is effective. We'll know the result of that in a couple months. In the interim, I recommend that you visit the sites of the candidates and their parties. Take a moment to really analyze what you are reading. Determine what you like and what you don't like. Evaluate for yourself whether a candidate has a solid stance on the issue or if they use words to detour you away from the answer.