Political Nanotargeting

Many people think of politics as a lot of hot air. It turns out politics may be more like rocket science.

Since the 2004 George W. Bush presidential campaign, Republican and Democratic political strategists have been using nanotargeting to reach and activate their political bases. To target ads, operatives pore over voting histories, housing values, recreational preferences, automobile ownership, TV viewership as well as favorite restaurants, drinks and websites.

Who knew that your zest for Arby's or the number of bedrooms in your home could drop hints about your political leanings?

In a recent piece in The New York Times, Thomas Edsall, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, probes this intensifying segmentation — and polarization — of the American electorate. Here are some tips Edsall offers in spotting stereotypical Republicans and Democrats:

  • Someone who reads The Washington Post or watches the Comedy Channel is more likely to be a Democrat. People who reads The Wall Street Journal or watches Country Music Television or the Golf Channel are probably Republicans.

  • Among the top 10 favorite TV shows of Republicans are "The Office," "The Big Bang Theory," "Desperate Housewives" and "The Biggest Loser."  Democrats prefer "Late Show with David Letterman," "PBS NewsHour," "House of Payne" and "60 Minutes."

  • McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's appeal to the political middle. You can spot the Republicans eating at Macaroni Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Arby's and Chick-fil-A, while the Democrats chow down at Popeye's, Dunkin' Donuts and Chuck E. Cheese.

  • The Democratic drinks of choice are cognac or Budweiser. Republicans favor light beers, Guinness and scotch.

  • Don't look for GOP presidential ads on "30 Rock" or Democratic ads on professional football games this fall.

Clearly these are generalized views of American political sympathies. But they are the basis for making critical, make-or-break advertising choices. As Edsall notes, "Incremental shifts among key constituencies — Hispanics, single white working class women and private-sector unionized employees — can be decisive."

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Starbucks CEO Urges Contribution Boycott

From his Seattle office, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has seen enough and is leading what amounts to a boycott of political contributions until Congress and President Obama work out a plan that restores faith in the American economy.

"Right now, our economy is frozen in a cycle of fear and uncertainty," Schultz wrote this week to other corporate leaders. "Companies are afraid to hire. Consumers are afraid to spend. Banks are afraid to lend."

"Our national elected officials from both parties have failed to lead," he says. "They have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the wellbeing of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States. They have stirred up fears about our economic prospects without doing anything to truly address those fears."

Schultz said the way to get the attention of politicians is to cut off campaign contributions. "We invite leaders of businesses — indeed all concerned Americans — to join us in this pledge."

The initial communication was an email to 3,000 publicly traded companies. Apparently officials at U.S. stock exchanges forwarded the letter to a broader audience, where his appeal appeared to gain traction. While Starbucks isn't a major political contributor, Schultz' call to action could catch on and hit political figures where it hurts — their campaign war chests.

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Appreciating Bill Keller

It doesn't seem that long ago when Bill Keller, then a Capitol Hill reporter for The Oregonian, sat across from my desk in the Cannon Office Building and told me I didn't know as much as I thought I did. Keller meant his comment to apply to a particular topic, but I took it as a general observation. As time has advanced, I have reflected often on his comment and agree with him more every day.

So it was an interesting personal moment last week when I heard Keller announce he will step down as executive editor of The New York Times after eight years in the post. Bill characteristically took the occasion of his pending departure to unload about his soon-to-be former job. He described constant crisis management, from low morale on the news staff that he inherited to the atrophy of newspaper bottom lines. Somewhere in there, Keller was involved in parsing and publishing sensitive government documents obtained by WikiLeaks.

When Keller's career and mine coincided in Washington, D.C. in the late 1970s, I saw or talked to him almost daily. He was clearly a cut above most reporters. Tough, but professional. His successful career, which includes a Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his coverage of the break-up of the Soviet Union, attests to his skill.

Keller's acorn seemingly landed a far distance from the oak tree of his father, George Keller, who was chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron. Bill's first job after graduating from Pomona College was to start an independent newspaper. Then he moved to Portland and hooked up with The Oregonian in 1970, later transferring to its Washington. D.C. bureau until he left in 1979. After side trips to the Congressional Quarterly and The Dallas Times Herald, Keller joined The New York Times in 1984 in its Capitol bureau.

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