Candidate
By Robert Conlin
E-Commerce Times
March 7, 2000
As 16 U.S. states prepare to cast
presidential primary votes in what has
become known as "Super Tuesday,"
Internet research firm Forrester Research
(Nasdaq: FORR) has declared
Vice-President and Democratic
front-runner Al Gore the most Internet-friendly candidate in
the 2000 presidential race.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester said Monday
that Gore finished ahead of the other three leading
presidential candidates in a survey of technology firms,
public policy groups, political Web sites and the technology
advisors of the candidates.
The company said it graded the four candidates on three
criteria: The completeness of their campaigns based on
Internet issues, their technology track record and their
technology advisors.
Bradley Brings Up Rear
Gore scored well for his involvement in technology policy, his
choice of technology advisors and his track record.
However, the Vice President did not do well on several
looming policy issues, the firm said.
Arizona Senator John McCain, who is mounting an insurgent
campaign against Republican front-runner George W. Bush,
placed second in the survey. McCain's position as chairman
of the Senate Commerce Committee gave him clout, as did
his track record as a man who has taken "clear and
prominent stands" on such hot-button Internet issues as
taxation and regulation.
Bush' s record campaign windfall did not translate into
success in Forrester's survey, which ranked him third.
According to Forrester, Bush's standing as governor of
Texas did not allow him to get involved in technology
policymaking at the national level, and his reticence on
e-commerce related issues did not serve him well.
Former NBA star and New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley finished
last in the survey. Despite taking clear positions on the
"digital divide," education, free speech and taxation,
Forrester said, Bradley has generally steered clear of
technology issues and did not make his list of technology
advisors publicly available.
High Stakes
Forrester's report underscores the importance of the
Internet to the political landscape in 2000, while reminding
voters that the next president could have a significant hand
in shaping the industry's future.
The company said that government intervention is
inevitable, as "the stakes have become too high to leave
Internet decisions outside the democratic process." It
believes that the government will need to intervene to
settle the high-profile issues of taxation and privacy, as well
as other vexing issues like the digital divide and free speech.
"Although the Internet has become a staple of modern life,
businesses and consumers will look to government to
guarantee a secure online experience," said John McCarthy,
the company's group director of the company's Internet
Policy & Regulation Research.
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