Before announcing his presidential candidacy yesterday, Republican Senator John McCain asked Yahoo users, “What would you do to stop wasteful government spending in Washington?” on Yahoo Answers. John McCain is the second 2008 presidential hopeful to post on Yahoo Answers, following Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, who posted her question just over a month ago, “Based on your own family’s experience, what do you think we should do to improve health care in America?“
According to Hitwise data for January 2006, Yahoo Answers is the leading Q&A site on the Web. And John McCain’s question has currently solicited over 15,000 answers with responses ranging from placing a limit on politicians’ compensation and tenure, to changing rules for lobbyist endorsements and taking a closer look at immigration policy.
The presidential candidates join a list of more than 70 prominent figures that include Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Stephen Hawking, Al Gore, Bono, and Donald Trump who have posted questions around globally-pressing issues for the collective knowledge of the Yahoo Answers community to help solve. They see Yahoo’s audience as a great way to build awareness for the causes that matter to them most.
Back in 1992, Ross Perot used CNN’s “Larry King Live” to launch his presidential campaign as an Independent. Times change.