Who Will Lead the First Campaign?

We may be in the midst of electing our 44th president, but as Garrett Graff explains in his book, this is really The First Campaign. It’s the first campaign in the sense that the 2008 presidential election is the first election where the campaigns blaze a trail across the World Wide Web just as the candidates are criss-crossing the nation in their campaign buses.

The Internet has led to a world where doing business in Japan is an everyday occurrence, and the issues facing Eastern Europe can now have a much bigger impact on the United States. These globalization changes affect the United States as we move forward in the 21st century. The political implications are huge, and they are just beginning during this election season.

The web has allowed us to connect like never before. Our neighbors are closer than ever, information has never been easier to obtain and people have begun to find their voice online. I think Barack Obama has some good ideas in moving forward in this new, online world. Coming from someone who works for the government, I like his open government policies. I feel as if he (or his political advisers anyway) get what Web 2.0 means.

Technology-enabled citizen participation . . . can help connect government to its citizens and engage citizens in a democracy. Barack Obama will use the most current technological tools available to make government less beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists and promote citizen participation in government decision-making. Obama will integrate citizens into the actual business of government by:

—Establishing pilot programs to open up government decision-making and involve the public in the work of agencies, not simply by soliciting opinions, but by tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry to help government make more informed decisions.
—Lifting the veil from secret deals in Washington with a web site, a search engine, and other web tools that enable citizens easily to track online federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and lobbyist contacts with government officials.
—Giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days before signing any non-emergency legislation.

The campaigns have been doing a much better job of using this new media in their campaigns. I think those who can really harness the power of technology will begin to lead the pack. BeckBlogic included a quote from Steve Jobs that perfectly describes this race, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”