Three Top Republican Candidates And What Their Blogs Say About Them

I've let you keep up with the announced candidates for the Republican side of the Governor race in Maine for 2010. We have read their websites, attempted interviews (got two of them) and now we will examine their blogs. Just a quick recap: Bruce Poliquin, Matt Jacobson, and Les Otten are the candidates.

One of the most telling signs for a blog writer is to make the first post mean something. In my case it explained what the blog would cover (important things and sometimes not so important things to break the tandem of drama). This first review is going to cover only the first blog. The first blog, should someone take the time to go and read it, can give a big hint as to the potential, purpose, and practicality of the blog.

Lets start with Les Otten's blog found here: http://lesotten.blogspot.com/

Les Otten's first blog post talks about the Red Sox and their championship win. It tells of how Maine can come back from a loss and what areas need to be fixed. He states:
I believe that Maine can renew itself as a leader in energy independence, tax reform, job creation, business opportunity and 21st century educational opportunities.

Excerpt over. What the blog doesn't say is that he is running for governor. It doesn't mention why he is running for governor. It doesn't mention why he should be governor. It lacks what the solutions to those issues are, and so on a scale of 1-10 for representing his campaign for governor, I give it a 2.

Now to Matt Jacobson's blog at: http://jacobsonforgovernor.blogspot.com/2009/03/test-blog-1.html

His blog post is lengthy, but detailed. I like that. Most people I know may be slightly bored with the detailed paragraphs, but it isn't a CBO report and has some adjectives in it to make things more readable. His blog states five main problems (as a good way to make a powerful statement later on) which are: energy costs, aging population, per capita income, changing climate (which negatively affects our fishing industry), and the air base in Brunswick is closing. He definately knows what is wrong with Maine. He knows the problem. This is good.

He provides a goal of increasing our per capita income by $19,000 without giving a way to do it. He then proposes we turn the air base into an energy center, and then connects that to all the other issues making it a solution to many problems. In this big picture viewpoint he is excellent. He understands the chain reactions. However how the energy center would be formed using the governor's office he did not say. Which makes his whole blog doubtful, however it does appear on the surface to be a good idea.

However, like Les Otten's blog it is not apparent in the blog that he is running for governor. You have to make it crystal clear to people what you plan to do. Just saying what is wrong and mentioning a solution does not do much if you need someone to vote for you. It also shows to me they are not focused on the goal.

My rating: 7

Now we go to Bruce Poliquin's blog, which is not on blogger.com but on his website: http://www.bruceforme.com/index.php/blog/P32/

His blog starts out with what is wrong with Maine and what can be done about it in generalized terms. Then he underlined a section with the following:

Here are just a few reasons why I’m best qualified to be your next Governor:
First, I’m a native Mainer — Waterville 3rd generation.
Second, I worked my way through Harvard University, studying economics under world renowned professors and business managers.
Third, our investment business safely managed $5 billion of worker pension funds, more money than our State government spends in a year.
Fourth, I have started, invested in, and managed a number of Maine businesses. These companies have provided good work to hundreds of Mainers and injected millions of dollars into our economy.

Excerpt over. Then he repeats his first section in a couple of sentences and dedicates himself to making himself available to prove himself as qualified for the position and ready to do the job. He even gives contact information. This is something that sets his campaign apart from all the others I've seen so far (including the Working Families Party from earlier). He is the only candidate who has made himself accessable. I have been contacted by his campaign more times than I have contacted them. This connection to the people is what a leader needs to have.

His blog post gives some problems, aknowledges that solutions are more complicated than catchy phrases, and then gives the reason why he is best for the position of governor and allows you to contact anytime. While I am slightly inclined to test the "contact me anytime" just to fulfill the urges of having Aspergers Syndrome, I won't.

My Rating: 9.9

It is still early in the campaign, and changes can be made to improve. I have seen endorsements work wonders in campaigns but I feel that mine would only distract from the issues. So I will continue doing my work and presenting all sides, even if I do endorse Bruce Poliquin for governor. (A lesson has been learned from this: a few e-mail responses and forward outreach programs can do wonders for a candidate for public office.)