Using John McCain as a punching bag

The media buzz around The New Yorker’s satirical cover of the Obamas, has crowded out another story.

John McCain’s the punching bag of a political action group of the labor union, the SEIU. The cheesy godzilla-themed web site links to a YouTube video about “closing tax loopholes for buyout monsters.” Evidently McCain is not the story, but seems to be a convenient icon.

It’s part of a campaign in support of a tax bill going through the senate tomorrow. Like the metaphor itself, the ‘global campaign’ seems hugely overblown. The video and a web site seem incredibly tame. Other groups such as the AFT, engage their potential audience in much more creative ways, including –but not being obsessed by –social media.

My point? It’s way to easy to whip up a campaign with one or two social media embellishments and a web site when there’s a lot more grunt work to be done. Thank goodness there’s no godzilla-related twittering!