The jokes are piling up after San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom put seven-and-a-half hours of his State of the City Address on his YouTube channel.
"What has more chapters? Newsom's State of the City Address or Star Wars?"
"What's longer? Newsom's video -- or the Lord of the Rings movies?"
"He's like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going."
Some call him long-winded, some call him sexy and smart, but whatever the case, Newsom likes to talk. He has a radio show and the YouTube channel to prove it.
Newsom and his team have placed 10 chapters of the speech on YouTube. Several of the chapters are 45 minutes long.
Here's the (short) introduction:
The webisodes feature Newsom speaking to a camera at the newly-renovated Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.
Newsom has said that the format allows him to go into more detail about issues such as health care, homelessness and the environment, than he would normally.
“We are committed to using technology to cultivate an ongoing conversation with our constituents,” said Newsom. “Now our YouTube site gives us one more channel for communication.”
MSNBC suspects that Newsom's intent may partly be to achieve statewide attention in the years preceding what many expect to be a run for governor in 2010.
Click here to watch the State of the City Address on YouTube.
In Monday's webisodes, Newsom discussed San Francisco’s universal health care program, universal preschool and afterschool for all initiatives, and the city’s work to combat climate change.
He said he would unveil the remainder of the webisodes throughout the week:
Tuesday:
Transportation
Wednesday:
Violence Prevention
Poverty
Thursday:
Economic Climate
Economic Development
Friday:
Emergency Planning
Public Art
The State of the City will also air on SFGTV, cable 26, at 9:00 a.m. each day during the week.
