In a capacity of praise, scorn, or, preferably, debate

One of my old roommates - Joe Felice - has been ramping up his own personal channel on YouTube the past couple of months, posting regular videos featuring his always-sharp political analysis; his delivery is full of wit and energy.. and even if you don't agree with him 100% - or don't even think you're into "politics" - he draws you in with on-point observations and enthusiasm.. and a flair for the, um, zany (in a good way!); you'll see what I mean:

Mostly Politics, by Joe Felice
http://youtube.com/JoeFelice

In a similar vein, Joe entered a contest a few weeks ago to be able to cover either the Republican or Democratic National Convention as part of the Broadcasting arm of Project Breakout. There, he posted a video explaining why he was interested in the opportunity, along with some clips from his YouTube channel.

I checked it out..

And you know what - and maybe this is because I know him personally and can't disambiguate those personal feelings; I am human after all (video) - I think Joe is the best of the bunch. I mean, there are a couple of other folks that are ok (although a little too "jokey" for my tastes; they be Daily Show wannabes), but I really, truly, believe Joe is the best political pundit in the contest.

No doubt.

So, without further ado, it's the final week of the Project Breakout competition and, in fact, Joe is one of the top contenders. As such, it's *now* that the votes really count.. so if you have a few minutes, check out his page below and make a few clicks to send Joe to either of the Conventions this summer. He really was born to do this, to be a fresh-faced and crazy-haired political pundit..

Here are some words from the man himself:

My final entry in the convention competition is up and I would deeply, madly, turgidly appreciate your vote in the final week of this endless frigging marathon to the prize (a paid trip to cover one of the political conventions and $2500).

I hope some folks will watch the new video too because it's a good summary of what I've been up to, including my appearance on Al Jazeera last week, and the recent video that got me a shout-out in the official YouTube blog, as well as the old tape of when NPR read my letter.

To watch and vote you just go to this link:
http://broadcasting.projectbreakout.com/media_page/entry_id/197

That's my page. Sign in at the very top (or register as a user if it's your first time). Click the big red vote button 15 times in a row, once a day if possible, until Sunday. Phew! And that will really be the end, win or lose.

I know it sounds like a (minor) hassle, but I've done the clickity-click-deed every day to help get Joe through this last push; once you've signed up, it literally takes less than a minute to vote for him. If you can, do it daily until the contest ends on Sunday (but even if you check it out just one day, the help is appreciated).

In short, Joe brings an erudite spice that would rock the the RNC or DNC. Let's send him there!

And let me know if you have any questions or comments on this whole thing. Or contact Joe directly through his YouTube channel; he would love to hear from you in any capacity of praise, scorn, or, preferably, debate. Word is up!

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ps. A little more about Mr. Felice: "I have political experience at Dean for America (Iowa Field Staff) and Music for America (San Francisco nonprofit). Now I work a desk job in the entertainment business in NYC (Eric's note: Joe does some pretty cool stuff - involving fresh and still-evolving copyright law - with some pretty big entities in the music industry). Politics aside, my other favorite things are Scrabble, road trips in the desert, and running the lights at local rock shows."