<p>Hey...</p>
<p>Who all's seen the Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl video ( Obama</a> Girl vs. Giuliani Girl | Music Videos )?</p>
<p>What do you all think of selling presidential candidates by using barely-clothed women dancing sexually... (sure, we see it all the time in music videos, but for this purpose...?)
Do you think it's degrading to women?
Is it manipulative?</p>
<p>The thing is, the candidates aren't paying for these videos (please correct me if I'm wrong). And while the videos may well be trying to sell a candidate, if they didn't approve the video (i.e. pay for it), then there's nothing that they or anyone else can do to stop it.</p>
<p>And maybe in your post you didn't mean that the candidates themselves were using sex appeal to garner more votes. But if that's what you did mean, I certainly don't think it's fair to blame the people running for office.</p>
<p>They aren't affiliated with any candidates though.</p>
<p>Obama mentioned "Obama Girl" to the Des Moines Registrar that, "It's just one more example of the fertile imagination of the internet. More stuff like this will be popping up all the time." He also went on to mention that his daughters were upset with the video.</p>
<p>It may be manipulative, but since the candidates don't have any control over it they can't do anything about it. Free publicity I guess.</p>
<p>What is worse in opinion was when Huckabee used Chuck Norris in a campaign commercial since he has been a part of semi-recent internet pop culture. Huckabee did it intentionally. Obama and Giuliani in this case have nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>Yes, I realize the candidates themselves are not promoting the videos, but I still think it is interesting that people are promoting their candidate in this manner. Even if the candidates themselves (and their official campaigns) do not endorse these videos, it is something to consider in terms of the effect it will have on college students who vote. Will it influence our generation of voters in a negative or positive manner?</p>
<p>Campaigning is already such a joke and caters to a generally uninformed public (who base their votes and political opinions on trivial aspects such as soundbites, appearances, and vague promises that are never fully explained) that this is really moot.</p>
<p>I've not heard what Guiliani has said about his girl, but Obama seemed kind of embarrassed that this half-naked girl was fawning over him when I saw him talk about the video. He does have a wife and two little girls and I can imagine he wouldn't want his daughters seeing something like that.</p>
<p>I don't see how it's degrading to women when it's the woman that volunteered herself to do it.</p>
<p>If a man gets up and does an underwear commercial, or the tag/axe commercials where a guy is so easily seduced by women, we don't cry "Oh my god that's so degrading to us!" </p>
<p>If you look good, why not use it? It might be my culture that is more open to sexuality than a typical American family's culture, or maybe people are just being too prude.</p>