Quite amusing, really.
You knew somehow it would come to this. John McCain’s campaign is offering their supporters redeemable points to troll websites and write pro-McCain comments. It’s the professionalization of astroturfing. Because it’s a conservative effort, they give them the exact words and invite them to cut and paste them onto the sites.
Apparently, the McCain campaign was finding it difficult to generate much enthusiasm without paying for it.
[Wrong Bus McCain]
The Washington Post adds:
Spread John McCain’s official talking points around the Web — and you could win valuable prizes!
That, in essence, is the McCain campaign’s pitch to supporters to join its new online effort, one that combines the features of “AstroTurf” campaigning with the sort of customer-loyalty programs offered by airlines, hotel chains, restaurants and the occasional daily newspaper.
On McCain’s Web site, visitors are invited to “Spread the Word” about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor’s screen name. The site offers sample comments (“John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .”) and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into “conservative,” “liberal,” “moderate” and “other” categories. Just cut and paste.
Paucity of ideas, indeed.