Today I read an article titled, Comcast on-demand movie test ruffling DVD retailers and this got me thinking of the late 1990’s telecom gold rush when people were making wild and crazy bets on broadband. How many times did I hear about videos on demand to your home back in 1999? After a while it went away for obvious reasons. Seven years later it has come back and it is a reality for millions of homes. This reminded me of Gartner Group’s Hype Cycle. In Gartner’s own words,
“The Hype Cycle highlights the progression of an emerging technology from market over enthusiasm through a period of disillusionment to an eventual understanding of the technology’s relevance and role in a market or domain.”
Thinking about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in the context of The Hype Cycle, Barack is clearly in “over enthusiasm” mode while Romney is entering step two, “disillusionment”.
The Washington Post on Romney,
The apparent gulf between the candidate who ran for the Senate in 1994 and the one getting ready to run for president has raised questions as to who is the real Mitt Romney. Is he the self-described moderate who unsuccessfully challenged Kennedy in the year of the Republican landslide, the self-described conservative now ready to bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, or merely an ambitious and adaptable politician? The answer could be crucial to Romney’s presidential ambitions.
It seems like Everybody Loves Barack. The polls? Check. The media? Check. Like Mitt Romney, Obama is a beneficiary of the good first impression. Obama also says one thing and does another. Mitt is currently* talking like a conservative when his record shows he is a moderate, hence the disillusionment. Obama talks like a moderate, but he is in fact, quite liberal. Won’t that lead to the inevitable next step?
Take a look at Barack’s record, courtesy of a great web resource, Project Vote Smart,
Immigration
2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the American Immigration Lawyers Association 88 percent in 2006.
2005-2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the U.S. Border Control 8 percent in 2005-2006.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Federation for American Immigration Reform 0 percent in 2005.
Education
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the National Education Association 100 percent in 2005.
Taxes
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the National Taxpayers Union 6 percent in 2005.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Americans for Tax Reform 0 percent in 2005.
Business
2005-2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the National Federation of Independent Business 12 percent in 2005-2006.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 39 percent in 2005.
Civil Liberties
2005-2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 83 percent in 2005-2006.
Labor
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the AFL-CIO 92 percent in 2005.
Social Issues
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the National Organization for Women 100 percent in 2005.
2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 100 percent in 2006.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Gun Owners of America 0 percent in 2005.
2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Secular Coalition for America 90 percent in 2006.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Population Connection 100 percent in 2005.
Veterans
2006 In 2006 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator Obama a grade of B+.
2006 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 80 percent in 2006.
2005 Senator Obama supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 92 percent in 2005.
Disclaimer: Descriptions of organizations are derived from the mission statement or description produced by each organization. Project Vote Smart does not evaluate or edit these descriptions.
If that record won’t lead to disillusionment of the average voter, I don’t know what will.