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The Fattah for Mayor Exploratory Committee invited the media and several members of their committee to the world premiere of three short biographical videos today at their Center City headquarters. As a huge fan of the unintentionally funny video work (ie Mayor Street's Tour de Philly), I couldn't pass up a chance to watch and subsequently skewer these films. I am thoroughly disappointed, therefore, that these videos are as professional and well done as they are. Using what must be a vast store of newspaper clippings and archived footage of the Congressman the three videos lay out Fattah's biography and the work he's done on education and other issues.

Each of the three, titled "Rise to Leadership," "Educating Our Children," and "Shaping Our World," contained numerous clips of Fattah with national Democratic leaders Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Expect to see a LOT of those clips in Fattah's television ad campaign if and when the "exploratory" committee finally reaches the new world and plants its flag in previously uncharted official mayoral campaign territory.

The first video is narrated by a soft-spoken female voice that tells the story of a man who started his public life by refereeing fights between the Sharks and the Jets during the height of gang warfare in the 1960s and went on to "beat the machine" to become a state representative and soon after a state senator. At one point, Fattah refers to himself as a "policy wonk," which is followed by shots of Clinton and Gore praising Fattah for creating a program called GEAR-UP, which provides increased funding for education.

A male voice with a slight edge to it narrates the second video with some synth rock playing in the background. Focusing on education, the video returns to Fattah's most notable legislative triumph "GEAR-UP" and "CORE Philly" - a college scholarship program for Philadelphia students. Headline after headline float across the screen touting various parts of Fattah's legislative record along with several more clips of Fattah with various prominent leaders.

The same male voice narrates the third video with a softer R&B beat in the background. The video opens with shots of various rundown North Philly neighborhoods then transitions to a scene of Fattah planting a tree in one of those neighborhoods. Apparently it was a money tree, because a major portion of the video highlights Fattah's "clout" (a word that will be included in the "Spot the Message" scavenger hunt that I'm planning on once the campaign gets in full swing), and his ability to deliver large, cardboard novelty checks for various programs. Using a production technique often employed by Access Hollywood when they report on celebrity divorces, the video pauses, zooms and highlights sections from various letters that tell how much money Fattah brought from the federal government to his district. The video also includes references to Fattah's vote against the Iraq war and shows meetings that he's had with international officials including some folks from the Far East. John Perzel isn't the only local politician who has a relationship with the Chinese.

The first of these three videos is already posted at on the exploratory committee's website and I'd be interested to hear other people's critiques.

Judging from these videos and the wall decorations in the campaign office - the place is a veritable Chaka Fattah Hall of Fame full of still photos and magazine covers from throughout his career - Fattah will be running mostly on his record. However, he promises that the main purpose of his exploratory committee is to "convene a cross section of Philadelphians to develop a potential policy agenda for the city" (hmmmm... sounds familiar).

Fattah seems to be taking the Thornton Melon route by bringing in a whole lot of really smart folks with Ivy League pedigrees and Latin last names (like cum laude and summa cum laude) to do his homework. He's got a noted Philadelphia author for his communications director, a well-known Philadelphia production company making videos and a real life Doogie Howser (she got into Stanford at 16!!) running the show. What's next, Kurt Vonnegut to write his book reports? So here we go. The first team to be introduced in Philly's own Amazing Race officially (as much as I can be official) has its nickname, Revenge of the Nerds. Wear it with pride.