It is fascinating how trends shift over time. Looking at data spanning a period of time can conceal slight shifts which may indicate coming trends. In the previous post, covering the first half of March, Obama was trailing in some respects. Looking at just the last four days is a different story!
From March 16 through today it appears that Barack Obama has had slightly more people searching online for information about him than any other of the candidates I am tracking. But Hillary is very close. Al Gore is in the third spot, but he is pulling less than half the count that Hillary shows. Giuliani, Romney and McCain have trailed off considerably since last week's CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) gathering. John McCain is nearly falling off my radar!
If we consider that the "click thru rate" on ads for these candidates' caps reflects some dimension of seriousness about the candidates, then it is an important measure to watch. For this period of days Hillary Clinton's leads the pack, with a rate three times that of Obama and double Al Gore.
What does it all mean? That is hard to say since there are many months to go before the election possibilities tighten and many months with time for gaffes and stumbles. One thing is certain, there seems increased interest in the Republican candidates when they have an event, but that interest is not sustained much beyond the event. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Al Gore—by contrast—seem to shuffle positions and yet all continue to be of great interest to people. Perhaps the pundits are correct in saying that the Republican side needs some new candidates.
