Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Evolving Government

I recently read an article in the Austin American Statesman about how the Obama campaign, now transition team, used and continue to implement online promotion through various forms of media as an outlet for critical information. The 2008 election was historic not only because of the diversity of its contenders, but also in the way it was presented to the public. The internet has become an ever increasingly ubiquitous part of our lives. Businesses have understood this for quite some time now, and it seems that politics has followed suit. Now president-elect Barack Obama, used the internet to ascend from total obscurity to capturing the Democratic nomination and raising over 600 million dollars during the course of his campaign. The internet has effectively given birth to the greatest innovation in political campaigning since the first televised Presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The article looks to the future and how the nature of politics and the presidency will change as a result. It covers the obvious pros and the more surreptitious cons of this kind of government as America prepares for its first “digital presidency”.