Campaign Audio from PRX

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God save the candidate who uses a three syllable word. Reporters will careen satellite trucks through crowded schoolyards to get the scoop on a politician “out of touch” with the voters. Instead office-seekers use a folksier, kitchen table, I’m-one-of-you-vote-for-me kind of speech that appeals to everyone. But as boring as politician speeches can get, they are an incredibly rich source of imagery: cut-n-run, glass pockets, big stick diplomacy, lock boxes, welfare queens, spin-rooms…

As new political terms constantly rain down we turn to linguists to examine them. A Way with Words does just that. In this excerpt, the hosts, author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett discuss some of these new additions to our political vocabulary.

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As conditions grow worrisome in Georgia, McCain is planning to bring it into his news cycle. Last Friday he made comments that PRX is working to get up now. Likewise for his comments today. Obama’s previous remarks on Russia allude to his desire to negotiate with Moscow. Find them here and here.

Comfortably into the general election now with race and religion having drifted from the headlines. But they are still issues in many battleground states. West Virginia stands out as an example of how difficult it will likely be for Obama’s campaign to deal with this problem in Appalachia. Scott Finn of West Virginia Public Broadcasting filed this report soon after the May state primary, where poll results showed how race and religion affected the outcome.

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You can check out all of  PRX’s election audio on race and religion here.

As another election approaches, a politicized debate is raging about voter fraud and voter suppression, in which neither side can agree on the nature of the problem. Susan Q. Stranahan reports that the real question remains unanswered: Are the systemic problems of the last two presidential elections likely to recur when the presumptive nominees, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, square off in November?

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In this third report from the Center for Public Integrity’s The Buying of the President series, Stephanie Mencimer, a reporter for Mother Jones, examines dirty tricks in politics, including recent rumors that Barack Obama is a practicing Muslim. Who are the opposition researchers or tricksters who dig up this dirt? Her investigation attempts to answer these questions and more.

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PRX has partnered with The Conversations Network for our election podcast called ’08 Conversations. The latest one was about the female vote which has always been important, but the 2008 Presidential candidates have found women to be an electoral hot commodity. Given that polls find many to be both independent and undecided, both Obama and McCain are in full court woo to win them over.

Below you can listen to what the candidates are saying about women. Then we have Susan Kottler’s take on the 2008 Presidential Bake-Off Cookies.

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Back in the dark ages–1970something–the pols in Washington thought it would be a grand idea to bring law and order to campaign financing.  The result?  More loopholes for questionable money to slip through to candidates running for office.

In this second installment covering the Center for Public Integrity’s report on campaign spending, Sara Fritz, a veteran journalist who helped pioneer the campaign finance beat, discusses Section 527 groups and other independent organizations, who spend millions of dollars on advertisements and other election activities.

PRX has it ready for air here and more will be coming all summer long.

I wanted to repost a mix of McCain’s speech from the night of the South Dakota and Montana primaries. It was painful and stumbling at best. After being a Rep and Senator of 26 years, this speech shows just how unfamiliar he is with delivering prepared remarks.

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PRX has a lot of speeches like this where odd and uncomfortable moments spotlight the candidates’ personality. For creative producers it’s a gold mine for mash-ups and orchestral compositions of poli-speak. Take a look.

Hillary Clinton is asking us all to hold our gasp for just a few days longer. But that didn’t stop Barack Obama or John McCain from declaring the primary race over. PRX has all the audio cut up and ready to go. Clinton, Obama, and McCain.

I also wanted to highlight just two clips from tonight’s speeches. First McCain’s warm praise of Clinton. I think that’s the closest thing to emotion I’ve heard from him.

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Second is the closing to Obama’s speech. Regardless of personal politics, it has to be one of the finer moments in political oration.

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At last he speaks.

Months went by after John Edwards dropped his bid for president and he said nothing. Clinton wooed, Obama wooed. And still this polymer-smiled populist kept quiet.

For all the anticipation, when Edwards finally endorsed Obama last week in Michigan he omitted the key phrase: “I endorse…”

In fact, Edwards’ endorsement was not so much an endorsement at all but rather a rose ceremony where Edwards spends half the speech praising Senator Clinton despite boos and moans from the audience. Only later does Edwards state matter-of-factly that Obama will be the next president.

In the end, the Obama campaign never issued a press release using the words endorse nor have all of Edwards’ super delegates moved towards Obama.