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Press Release

All-Star Political Team Joins Forces With SpeakOut.com
New Website Launches "The Election of Ideas"

WASHINGTON, D.C. — November 16, 1999 — SpeakOut.com today launched The Election of Ideas, an unprecedented nationwide Internet survey that will empower Americans to choose the issues they want their presidential candidate to address during next year's election.

The Election of Ideas is a nonpartisan, interactive Internet survey, written by rival pollsters from the 1996 presidential campaign, Mark Penn and Tony Fabrizio.

Penn and Fabrizio are joined by an elite bipartisan advisory board that includes Michael K. Deaver, former deputy chief of staff to Ronald Reagan; Tom Downey and Susan Molinari, past members of Congress; Jack Quinn, former White House counsel to President Clinton; Carter Eskew, an advisor to Vice President Gore; Rich Bond, former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and William Diefenderfer, a senior official in the Bush Administration.

"While some of the political coverage is focused on who knows his geography, who has a temper and who is an alpha male, what really matters are the issues of concern to the American people," said Ron Howard, chairman and CEO of SpeakOut.com, Inc. "We want to share those important opinions with the people and the candidates who aspire to lead them."

The results of the survey will be published on Jan. 20, 2000, marking exactly one year before the next president takes the oath of office. Copies will be sent to every candidate running for federal office and to most statewide office seekers across the country. SpeakOut.com also will use the results to help shape major areas of its new Web site, a unique, innovative portal for issue-oriented news and activism tools.

The survey itself is an online interactive experience that marries the sophistication of traditional polls with the technological capabilities offered by the Internet. Questions are posed across twenty-seven issues categories, but visitors to the Web site may choose to answer questions from any combination of categories that match their areas of interest. Participation in The Election of Ideas can involve a quick or lengthy exploration of the issues, depending on a person's interest.

The Election of Ideas will be a powerful gauge of public opinion because it anticipates surveying a significantly larger universe of respondents than traditional polls.

"When the results of this survey are published, we'll be careful to say we're just beginning to understand the forces at work in this powerful new technology, but if you ignore the hopes and aspirations of so many politically-active Americans, you do so at your peril," said Mark Penn, chairman of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and one of the authors of The Election of Ideas.

Added his co-author, Tony Fabrizio, a partner at Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates: "There are many new Web sites out there claiming to measure the American opinion. But a few gimmicky questions that get e-mailed all over Washington do not create a thoughtful dialogue. The 2000 campaign is too important to reduce to a 'blizzard of spam.' The Election of Ideas is the beginning of something big."

Designed as a mechanism for driving the political process into the 21st Century, SpeakOut.com's Election of Ideas presents a unique opportunity for Americans to set their own agendas and to frame their hopes and aspirations for the next president.

About SpeakOut.com

Based in Washington, DC, SpeakOut.com's primary mission is to enhance the democratic process by enabling citizens to make a direct impact on the decisions that affect their lives.

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