Pro-Hillary video goes viral

Charlie Burr

We've featured a few viral videos from the presidential campaign over the past few months, including the pro-Obama Yes We Can video, John Edwards's "Hair" from the YouTube debate, and the "Hillary and the Band" spot from the Clinton campaign.

This recent pro-Hillary video is quickly approaching 250,000 views. Do you have a favorite user-generated video this cycle? If so, what is it?

[Hat tip to the Mercury's Blogtown.]

  • Matthew Sutton (unverified)
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    The "Yes We can" video supporting Obama is my favorite.

    Just search "yes we can" on youtube and you are there.

  • DTE (unverified)
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    The video was posted 4 months ago and has 204K+ views. That's hardly viral.

    Obama's video was posted 1 week ago and two separate versions each have 3500K+ views. Now that's viral.

  • douglas k (unverified)
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    The "Yes We Can" video was captivating. I watched it several times, passed it on to many friends.

    This one feels like a way over-long TV commercial, complete with a generic jingle. I gave up halfway through.

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    Charlie, it's nice of you to be nice, but jayzus... i couldn't take more than 20 seconds of that music.

    and when did Up With People become hip?

  • J (unverified)
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    Hilarious. Although posting it might be a touch mean, I can understand how you couldn't resist. (This was just at circa 6000 views when I saw it earlier today.)

    The Clinton campaign shouldn't be blamed for the submissions of some supporters. But hilarious.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iu9r040blE&feature=related

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    Painful. But y'know, I think it might just be better than Celine Dion.

    And thanks, J, for posting that response video. I think that pretty much sums it up.

  • BCM (unverified)
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    It's like having a front row seat at Jonestown sans the ending.

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    Wow....really? .....Really?

    For once I'm speechless.

    Watch "Yes We Can" vid and then this and it pretty much tells you all you need to know about these respective campaigns.

  • Daniel F (unverified)
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    I saw that the other day. I can watch it for about 8 seconds before I start laughing uncontrollably.

    The Clintons are at the point of complete desperation.

  • Daniel Spiro (unverified)
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    Sorry, but I think I have a Clinton allergy (not just to Hillary but to both of them -- especially to him). I sure hope she's not the nominee, because I've never voted Republican in 29 years of voting ... and I'd love to keep the streak alive.

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    That's hardly viral.

    I first saw it last week, when it was just over 10,000 hits. I posted it last night when this one had about around 205,000. Looking at where it is this morning, it seems around 240,000. So it's kind of interesting watching how when a video takes off, it takes off.

    I estimated it at just under 250,000 last night, btw, because there are about ten different postings of the same video on YouTube. Now I will say that I am merely defending the video's "virality", not the contents therein.

  • Bill R. (unverified)
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    I think it is representative of the culture of the two campaigns. It also shows why younger generations are going for Obama.

  • Pat Malach (unverified)
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    The reaction video J posted is hilarious -- much better than the video they're reacting to.

    Obama' Yes We Can is still the best. But this "John McCain" parody of that video is pretty funny as well.

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    Seriously, this is the Hillary video? I feel very, very bad that is her viral video. Yes We Can is the best by far. I watched it several times, forwarded it to friends, and reminded me why I have such a crush on John Legend.

  • Fair and Balanced (unverified)
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    I'm an Obama guy and was floored by the "yes we can" video.

    But come on, people. In terms of who should win the election, if Obama is 100 and Hillary is maybe 60, McCain is minus 100. Let's not buy into the "anyone but Hillary" stupidity and ridicule her campaign or supporters. Look what purism got us with Nader in 2000.

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    Lamest. Video. Ever.

    No wonder they disabled response comments.

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    The video was posted 4 months ago and has 204K+ views. That's hardly viral.

    Obama's video was posted 1 week ago and two separate versions each have 3500K+ views. Now that's viral.

    LOL that kinda puts torridjoe's oft-repeated characterization of Novick's web ad as "viral" into perspective. It's had what... less than 70k views? But the man is definitely on a mission and as the old mailman's saying goes, neither wind nor sleet nor rain...

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    Kevin, are you suggesting that the standards for viral marketing are no different for a campaign with a $150 million budget doing outreach to 300 million people versus a campaign with a $500,000 budget doing outreach to 3 million people?

    70,000 views on a video for a US Senate campaign that probably cost less than $5k to produce is pretty damned spectacular.

    The frame of reference you are looking for is 70,000 views for Novick's commercial versus 3,000 views for Merkley's commercial.

  • Elizabeth (unverified)
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    You can tell when a video truly goes viral by checking out the viral video chart. The Chart has a ton of fun graphs and numbers that illustrate the magnitude of popularity for the Top 20 videos of either the last 24 hours, the last 30 days or the last 365 days.

    This Hillary video did finally go viral when bloggers started posting the video on their sites, which multiplies viewings exponentially. It was on the chart for about a week, and has been re-entering the Top 20 sporadically since then.

    You can see the Obama video "Yes We Can" has a ton of views. It's been viewed more times than any other video in the last year, and it's only been online for a couple of weeks.

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    I has clearly become Kevin's bogeyman or something, to get called out in a thread I'm not even in, about something almost entirely NOT Steve Novick.

    I believe Mapes referred to the ad as viral before me.

    If you like more objective measures, it won several honors, getting as high as #13 most viewed politics vid of the day, 38th for the week. In with those Obama and Ron Paul ads for competiton.

    Another good sign of a viral ad is whether it gets national earned media. Check.

    Petty attacks are even worse when they're off base.

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    oh, and I still can't quite decide--is that REALLY a campaign video the Hilary folks put out? It's not a sad, sad little joke infused with A Mighty Wind-like irony?

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    Posted by: Sal Peralta | Feb 15, 2008 11:28:39 AM

    Kevin, are you suggesting...

    Sorry for the confusion, Sal. Notice how I put what you'd said in italics? Well, the comment you're referring to also started out with a quote in italics. In that case it was a quote of what DTE had said upthread. And just as my non-italicized comment here requires reading the initial italicized quote to put it into context, so too was the format of the earlier comment you refer to.

    Does that make it any clearer for you?

    I apoligize for foolishing assuming that my having followed a near-universal comment convention would be understood by everyone who read it. My bad.

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    I believe Mapes referred to the ad as viral before me.

    For the record: I claim zero expertise in what constitutes "viral" in this or any other context. I was merely riffing off what DTE said upthread.

    If you're offering Mapes or yourself as experts on what constitutes "viral" then knock yourself out.

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    I can offer you as an example of someone who's more interested in taking unprovoked shots at me than either Novick or the meaning of viral, how's that? :)

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    This thread has been more interesting than the (well-intentioned) post. I give Charlie credit for trying to put some pro-Clinton stuff on this Obama-heavy site.

    Elizabeth, that viral tracker site you posted is fascinating. Thanks.

  • pdxatheist (unverified)
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    I've never voted Republican in 29 years of voting ... and I'd love to keep the streak alive.

    I feel it necessary to do my part to give 'suicide voters' a little reality check whenever I can. I've never in my life voted Republican and would saw off my own hand before I did so. I strongly hope, and also expect, that Obama will end up being our nominee. But in the unlikely event that Hillary wins it, let's just take a look at what a knee-jerk vote for McCain will get you.

    McCain has no desire to end the war in Iraq; his willingness to stay there for a century is well-known. Despite her vote to authorize the war, Hillary is committed to ending it and bringing the troops home soon. So a vote for McCain is a vote for the Bushite policies that keep us in an unwinnable conflict. McCain is a hawk with a strong desire to go to war with Iran. Hell, he even thinks it's funny.

    McCain will not lift a finger towards making sure that all Americans receive affordable health care. Hillary supports the most comprehensive universal health care plan of any candidate. A vote for McCain is a vote for continuing the unforgivable disparity in health care coverage in America.

    McCain supports making permanent the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, having flip-flopped on that issue to appeal to the conservative base. Hillary would preside over an administration that would put an end to these oligarchical perks.

    John McCain is opposed to a woman's right to choose. He would be 'just fine' if Roe v. Wade were repealed. Hillary Clinton is pro-choice.

    John McCain has said that he will appoint 'strict constructionists' (read: conservative activists) to the glut of vacancies that are likely to come open on the Supreme Court during the next administration. We already have a 5-4 conservative majority in the court: McCain appointments could lead to a Supreme Court that would undo many of the hard-won civil liberties that past progressive courts have given us. Hillary Clinton would not nominate such judges.

    Need I go on? What is it with suicide voters? Are you trying to teach someone a lesson? Will it give you a personal feeling of satisfaction to put a conservative back in the White House just to spite Hillary Clinton?

    I know there are many, many so-called 'progressives' who will vote for McCain if Hillary is the Democratic nominee. I am not addressing this to the rabid, hate-filled, slavering, tin-foil hat wearing leftist loonies who will do this no matter what.

    But if you're sitting on the fence, wondering if you should sell out America's future just because Hillary's candidacy leaves a bad taste in your mouth, please reconsider. If you honestly believe that there is no difference between McCain and Clinton, please see above for just a few examples of how dead-wrong you are. I hope to hell that Obama wins the nomination, and as more time passes I expect that he will. But in the off-chance that he doesn't, I implore Hillary haters not to sell your country down the river just because Hillary Clinton isn't Mother Teresa. Maybe she doesn't deserve the presidency. But she'll do a helluva lot better job than John McCain.

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    Posted by: Elizabeth | Feb 15, 2008 12:02:40 PM

    I'll echo Jeff - fascinating!

    So if I understand correctly it appears that DTE was a bit off by citing viewings as the standard for what is/isn't viral because how many places the video is posted at is apparently the only criteria that matters. Which makes sense in a way. Viral isn't so much about popularity as it is how widely dispersed the video is. A You Tube video posted at 100 blogs trumps one posted at 99 blogs even if the one at 99 blogs has hundreds of thousands more viewings.

    A matrix which weighted for both spread and viewings would probably yield a more meaningful ranking. A virus which spreads widely but does nothing hardly deserves to be called a virus, n'est pas?

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    Gotta say to PDX Athiest,

    The only persuasive argument that I've seen to tout Clinton over McCain it the one that you mentioned regarding judicial appointments.

    I'm pretty confident that Obama beats Clinton going away on that one too, but that single argument will make me vote for Clinton if she's the Dem nominee. The rest of the stuff is about a wash in my opinion, as I still remember how "progressive" her husband was during his eight years and have no reason to believe that she intends to honor her recent movements to the left on NAFTA, WTO, taxes, or anything else that significantly deviates from her husband's record, and her own record in the Senate.

  • pdxatheist (unverified)
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    Pat Ryan,

    Although I can't quite figure out why you think I'm wrong on some of the other points I mentioned (is Hillary really anti-choice?), the one that you do agree with is reason enough to hold one's nose and vote Hillary should it come to that. I really hope it doesn't.

    I know my post was off-topic, but I feel strongly that a 'revenge vote' that would help elect a maniacal turd like John McCain is anathema to every progressive ideal I can think of, so I thought I would address it right where I see it.

  • backbeat12 (unverified)
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    That's the saddest video I've ever seen.

    And the lyrics? They don't know why we're fighting this war? Well ask Hillary, since she loves them so much.

    Obama/Schweitzer 08

  • cyk (unverified)
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    gag me with a spoon,

    it's as fake as her laugh

  • Brian (unverified)
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    Yeesh, that's almost cringe inducing. Whatever happened to the catchy jingle ala JFK? Hillary is still my gal, though.

  • Brian (unverified)
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    Ah, here it is. You gotta love this classic

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    Hmmm.... "suicide voters", that's a new term. I've been calling them "purity trolls", but it amounts to the same thing.

    I'm an Obama supporter, but if Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania all suddenly decide to go 70/30 for Hillary and she pulls it out, I'm voting for her.

    And no, I won't consider the "winning by cheating with Florida" thing, because I frankly think that despite all the bravado, she knows she can't do that. Literally. The people who put Howard Dean in the chairmanship have too much power to stop her.

  • LT (unverified)
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    Brian, although I am old enough to remember the 1960 election, I don't remember that one. Sounded like Frank Sinatra was one of the singers. Saw some pictures of Bobbby Kennedy in there also.

    The one I do remember is this one--just text, not a video.

    http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/High+Hopes+Lyrics.htm

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    Sal, if I remember right, you did some contract work for John Frohnmayer. Would you mind posting that disclosure when you comment on the Senate race? At least here at BlueOregon, please...

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    Glad to, Kari. I figured there was probably no need given the amount of time some folks spent on this blog trashing me for agreeing to take on that contract, that it would be something that regular readers would not soon forget.

    Like you, I make zero effort to hide current or past clients.

  • Bill R. (unverified)
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    Steve said:-"Hmmm.... "suicide voters", that's a new term. I've been calling them "purity trolls", but it amounts to the same thing. I'm an Obama supporter, but if Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania all suddenly decide to go 70/30 for Hillary and she pulls it out, I'm voting for her."

    I think it's hard for many Dems to comprehend the amount of visceral Hillary-hate there is out there, mainly because it doesn't necessarily exist in our circles of friends and family. However, there some Dems, Indies, and many Repubs who will never, under any circumstances consider voting for Hillary. That category has polled from the upper-forties to over 50 per cent in the past several months. That's why her electability is a part of the equation. The match-ups with McCain look especially terrible. I think if she somehow snatches the nomination in a fashion that thwarts actual voter preference for Obama, or pulls something like changing the rules on Mich. and Florida to win, that will so alienate the Obama people, especially the young ones, they will simply sit it out, and their affiliation to the Dem party will be lost for a generation.

    One can say that is irrational but the choice for a president is more often a choice for a person and not a policy, and actions that inspire distrust, or a public persona that is truly unlikeable dooms a candidate. It is a visceral and affective choice for many. HRC's campaign narrative has also been so crafted that it fits with the narrative already in people's minds that she "will do anything to win." And statements by her campaign that they intend to win with the supers, regardless of how the primaries end up, her jr. high efforts to change the rules on Mich. and Florida play into the meme very well.

    Ronald Reagan is a case in point. Well documented polling shows the American voter disagreed with Reagan on a major part of his policies. But they loved the guy, or his public persona. Probably most Americans agree with HRCs policy statements, but they distrust her and don't like her personally. Her campaign behavior and her record of influence peddling and capitulating to the Washington game, her reliance on husband Bill to advance ambitions, they all play into the narrative that paints her unlikeable and loyal to her personal ambition above all else.

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    oh, and I still can't quite decide--is that REALLY a campaign video the Hilary folks put out? It's not a sad, sad little joke infused with A Mighty Wind-like irony?

    I can envision a day when people will start putting together awful videos of seemingly in support of candidates just to drive people away with horrible tunes. Perhaps that day is here already.

    Anyone who thinks progressives will vote for McCain instead of Clinton is talking out of their tin-foil hat. If Clinton and McCain are the choices, some people might not vote at all, but it won't be for McCain. No, the people who would be the swing vote on that are the people in the middle, you know, the people who've been called "swing voters" for lo these many years. There are a lot more of them then there are progressives, many of them dislike the Clintons -- not for the same reasons necessarily -- and they'd be the ones to make the real difference in any contest. But, of course, it's so much easier to blame the progressives. The center is never wrong!

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    Hmmm.... "suicide voters", that's a new term. I've been calling them "purity trolls",

    Some people just can't get enough of that new-fangled derogatory terminology.

  • sadie (unverified)
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    @ Brian - My kids LOVE that Kennedy video. I was trying to explain to them who the song "Peter Pumpkin Head" was about when a friend directed me to that ad from Kennedy. They just don't make them like that anymore.

  • Brian (unverified)
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    That is a great ad. Even though it was slightly before my time, that jingle has stuck in my head for decades. Is it just me or does it sort of remind anyone else of the old drive-in movie ads at intermission?

  • petrichor (unverified)
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    wait a minute... i thought this video was a joke??? don't tell me it is serious!?!

  • tico perez (unverified)
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    too cheese...viral? i clicked for curiosity but i am for obama ...no umpph...it says we fight for what we KNOW is right? whats the message? whats right?

  • Edward Ramos (unverified)
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    There is something about Hillary so remarkable that she inspire all my family. As far as Obama charisma, there is plenty of doubts..Hillary definitely takes my heart !

  • Barry (unverified)
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    Better Barack Video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4fRvFhuh4

    Something about the man...please watch it and spread the link....

  • Rose (unverified)
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    Hope that no one votes for a candidate based on an endorsement video. Such a waste of money and time on both sides better spent on getting the info out about the candidate's stand on the issues. Re the Barack video: why should anyone believe that a bunch of super rich musicians and actors could actually CARE that so many Americans are without health care? Hillary has worked devotedly to this issue, and can make a change.

  • MushyGushy (unverified)
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    here's my new favorite...even this is better quality

    <h2></h2>

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