Relief may be in sight........
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Jackson to Web-announce candidacy
Yea or nay? Rev. Jesse Jackson will indicate his presidential intentions first on the Web.
By Joel Deane, ZDNN March 23, 1999 3:25 PM PT
Rev. Jesse Jackson will announce Wednesday morning whether or not he will challenge Vice President Gore for the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination.
And, in another minor coup for the Web as a political instrument, the news will break first on the Web site of his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.
'Yes' or 'no'
Congressman Jackson's press secretary, Frank Watkins, said jessejacksonjr.org will flash a "yes" or "no" text bulletin on whether the two-time presidential candidate will make a third try.
The site will then link to a RealAudio simulcast of a Jackson press conference in Chicago, which is being hosted by Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Web site. The announcement is scheduled for 8 a.m. PT.
Jackson's Web-first announcement comes less than a week after multimillionaire Steve Forbes launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination with Webcast announcement.
Watkins said Jackson's son was behind the decision to use the Web to get the word out about his presidential intentions.
"His son is very much in the know, and so he talked his dad into doing the announcement on the Web site," he said.
Traffic boost
Watkins said the congressman's Web site is already experiencing heavier-than-usual traffic in the lead-up to the announcement. A spokeswoman for Rev. Jackson confirmed Tuesday that the announcement would be simulcast live on the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's site and C-SPAN.
Jesse Jackson's Silicon Valley visit
Jackson, who ran two high-profile campaigns for president in 1984 and 1988, has been making news in the high-tech field on late. While visiting Silicon Valley earlier this month, Jackson criticized high-tech firms for not doing enough to overcome the "digital divide."
He urged high-tech firms to hire more minorities and people of color.
"I listen to the top Silicon Valley types and I sense a kind of oozing ideology that must be addressed. Those who are not qualified are qualifiable, but, when it comes to high-tech, it's as if they have to have some special kind of gene," he said. |
