John McCain is on a roll. The New Hampshire Union Leader has strongly endorsed his candidacy and Fox News' Carl Cameron called this endorsement "significant" and the "buzz" on the campaign trail (watch YouTube clip here).

That's all fine and dandy for the folks that a.) Read and care about a New Hampshire Union Leader endorsement, and 2.) Watch Fox News and care about what Carl Cameron has to say. I'm not saying these things aren't important (they are), but they don't really thrill me...

What I am more interested in is what voters think about John McCain (and the rest of the field) and whether those voters will have a chance to participate in the democratic process.

That is why today I'm going to serve a helping of porridge to McCain because tonight he'll be the first Republican to participate in the MySpace/MTV Presidential Forum. You can watch it and participate online tonight.

The details as provided by Lee Brenner, Executive Producer of Political Programming & Director of IMPACT at MySpace:

The MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogue with Sen. McCain is happening live on Monday, December 3rd, at 7pm EST. The one-hour event will be broadcast live on MTV, live on MySpace.com/election2008, live on mobile carriers, live on XM, and live and translated into Spanish on LaVibra.com/candidatos.

The first truly interactive, multi-media Presidential forum series continues to include unfiltered questions from young voters (students) in the audience (questions are unknown to the MySpace/MTV editorial team--only general topics are known), live IM and email questions from the online viewing audience, a user-generated (and user-generated rated/chosen) video question from myspace.com/election2008, and a first-of-its-kind, real-time online polling tool.

We've extended invitations to all of the leading Presidential candidates and are looking forward to hearing from those candidates about scheduling their Dialogues.

Good work John McCain. We'll tune in.

TechRepublican contributor James Durbin first blogged about McCain's willingness to step up to the plate in mid-November and I'm hopeful he has some thoughts to include in this discussion as someone with intimate knowledge of how this will all work out.

MySpace and MTV just announced that John McCain is going to be the next contender in Presidential Dialogues in New Hampshire on December 3rd, 7 p.m.EST. If you're in New Hampshire, there is still room in the audience - check in to the myspace.com/election2008 website to get selected.

So why is this important to the TechRepublican audience? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's because this event is the largest online audience of the youth vote, and the two previous speakers, Obama and Edwards, drew large numbers and had overwhelmingly positive response on the Flektor polling widget, which took real time voting results and broadcast them as the event went on.

Much of that was due to their online organization. If you can drive 10,000 people online at a specific moment, you can affect the polls. We've seen this online many, many times. My concern, is what happens when those same people go online to vote negatively.

I don't want to see either of these story lines on December 4. McCain fails to draw youth reponse to MTV appearance, and Youth Vote mainly negative for Republicans.

Check out the statistics: Since their debut, the video highlights from the two previous dialogues have been streamed approximately 700,000 times, and nearly 3.3 million people viewed the event on television

So if you're near a computer on Dec 3rd in the evening, make sure to sign on and watch the event. And if you're a McCain staffer - make sure you're organizing your e-mail list to drive supporters online.

Full Disclosure: Flektor is a client of Durbin Media Group, but this post is solely a personal message, and not authorized by Flektor or Fox Interactive Media, or indicative of their opinions.

I haven't spent much time on MTV in many, many years. Sure, I'll turn on the occasional Yo Momma marathon to while away the hours, but when it comes to making money or getting involved in politics, MTV just doesn't strike me as the best place to make an impact with my time.

But I'm not a politician.

I'm doing some research for a client (more about that later), and I've been spending some time on RocktheVote.com and MySpace. My first impression, and I'm sure it's accurate, is the overwhelming liberal message you get at those sites. Maybe that's from years of watching Kurt Loder and hearing Rock Stars complain about the environment, but when looking through the actual Rock the Vote site, something odd struck me. Only liberal think tanks and non-profits partner with Rock the Vote.

We know that younger voters often skew liberal, but don't vote, and by the time they vote, they're married with kids and paying taxes, which makes them Republicans. After 9/11, and in the middle of a war, there was hope that our youth was growing up at a faster rate than previous generations. Recent polls show that not to be the case, but I wonder if that's because we're not doing enough to fight the "progressive message" in the online forums where youth hang out.

Check out the sponsor page at RockTheVote.com.

Acorn, League of Women Voters, NAACP, People For The American Way, and True Majority.

Where's the Heritage Foundation? AmericanSolutions? The Hoover Institute? AEI? Where are the Freedom Vets and Move America Forward (or maybe to feed conspiracy theories, the PR firm for the Swift Boat Vets)? The answer is we're nowhere to be found. We've given up on MTV and their viewers and then blame it on the youth when they don't understand the conservative message.

We know the Democrats spent 2004 (and 2006) trying to scare young voters by telling that Republican wars were going to lead to a military draft. The story, though denied by all major Republicans, is an effective tactic, and though we deny it in the major papers and on blogs - what happens when MTV tells the story?

If we're serious about combatting the liberal message, web-savvy conservative organizations have to get in the game.

It starts at Rock the Vote, but that's just one website. Where else are we dropping the ball with our youth?

As Mark mentioned yesterday, MTV and MySpace have teamed up to present real-time "Presidential Dialogues."

This is a critical group for the GOP to reach. Young voters are increasingly turning out to the polls and voting for Democrats. The Republicans need to take every opportunity to reach them. It's good to see that all of them have agreed to participate.

Anastasia Goodstein, youth marketing guru, offers a few reminders for campaigns targeting youth:

What I don't understand is why the youth voter message either relies on celebrities to tell young people voting is cool or the candidates showing how hip they are. Where are the issues? Why isn't there messaging or a campaign that's focused on issues young people care about? The cost of college is sky high and only getting higher. Most of the people serving in the Iraq war are in this demographic. The cost of buying a home or apartment in a major city is not affordable for most young people. Will there be social security when this generation retires? With this generation, context is key. We have to show them why their vote matters and how specifically it can affect change and have a direct impact on their lives. I think that the messaging has to be less about how it's cool to vote or how cool the candidates are and more about why young people should give a damn.

I echo her sentiments. Millenials are a tough group. They want to be reached through certain mediums, but only with their issues. With our glee to see the candidates use social media, it's easy to forget that young voters also care about the issues. Facebook friends are great, but does the profile or web site mention positions that matter to them? What's more important--that celebrity endorsement or the candidates' views on college costs?

This generation has been told from birth that they are special, and they're looking for a candidate who realizes this and reaches out to them. It's a challenge, but Millenials can provide the edge needed to win a close race. All they're asking for is substance wrapped up in the 2.0 package.

MySpace, MTV team up on candidate dialogues
by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor for the Boston Globe

The presidential campaign continues apace in the online world of the young.

MySpace and MTV announced today that they will team up on a series of dialogues on college campuses with candidates that will be broadcast on television and on the web.

Students on site and viewers will be able to submit questions, and live online polling will gauge reaction, the companies said.

The first hour-long dialogue will feature Democrat John Edwards and is to take place in New Hampshire on Sept. 27. In the Democratic field, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson have agreed to take part. Among Republicans, Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney have committed. More here.

From Voice of America News:
Voters will be able to instant-message, e-mail or text message their questions during the discussions, which will also include online viewers' responses to candidates' answers. College students attending the forums will also be able to ask questions.

MTV, like so many other media outlets trying to stay relevant in the modern political world, is seeking citizen journalists in all 50 states + Washington, DC (woot!) to help provide coverage for the Presidential debate.

I hope a few Republicans take a shot at being a part of this machine. We desperately need to win back the Gen Next vote.

The press release:

MTV's Choose or Lose is looking for aspiring journalists to cover the 2008 election via written stories, vlogs and photos.

Citizen journalists! Visionaries! Vloggers! This is your year. Now more than ever, the presidential candidates know that every vote counts, and that local campaign stops can be covered and spread worldwide by anyone with a cell phone. You have power.

As part of our collaboration with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Knight News Challenge, MTV is looking for one aspiring reporter from every state and Washington, D.C., to be part of our Choose or Lose team. We know that you're already hitting the streets and doing this work. So now we're giving you the chance to join a national team of journalists in covering this unprecedented election year from a youth perspective.

Ideal candidates will have their fingers on the pulse of issues that are important to young people in their states and be passionate about politics and the possibilities of new technology. Strong writing and reporting skills are a must. A distinctive voice and an authoritative point of view? Even better.

We'll load you up with some production gear and bring you to MTV's headquarters in New York City for orientation. In return, you will be expected to work in a paid, part-time capacity to file video, written or photographic stories weekly throughout the election year. Your pieces will be posted online and spread to mobile devices — and the top stories will be broadcast on MTV, MTV2, MTVU or MTV Trés each week.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalistic excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.

Requirements:

* You must be at least 18 years old by December, 2007.
* You must reside in the state you are covering from January to November, 2008.
* You must have the time and ability to travel within your state and file at least one video, written or photographic story per week.

Applications can be filled out and submitted at think.mtv.com The application deadline is September 21, 2007.