21st Century President?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27740220/

Much talk has been made in the media about how this President will be the first 21st century President. Plans are already in the works to broadcast Obama speeches and updates on YouTube and to make the White House web site more interactive. Obama even plans on having a computer on his desk (which is shockingly absent from a tour of Bush's oval office, available here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/life/video/index.html).

Although I did not vote for Obama, I am very excited at the prospect of a more interactive White House administration (and I think there is a much greater chance of this occuring with Obama than there would have been with McCain). Imagine how awesome it would be to get a direct e-mail from the administration, explaining what Obama has on his schedule for the upcoming week and what issues he is addressing this week and why? The idea might sound weird; no President to date has used e-mail to communicate with the nation. Why would this be so transcendent?

Think about it; almost everything we know about the nation's politics is communicated to us through the mass media. This includes newspapers, on-line news, television, radio, etc. In short...we NEVER really get an unfiltered view of what is on the President's mind, save for major speeches, daily press conferences, and the President's weekly radio address. The problem with these outlets is the average person is not willing to go out of their way to take advantage of them. "Hey honey...we can't go to Jimmy's game tonight; the President's radio address is on!"

E-mail is different; virtually everyone goes through their Inbox on a daily basis. If you saw a message from the President, I am guessing you are more likely to take three minutes to read the President's e-mail than to tune in to the daily press briefing. The Obama administration should seriously consider this plan; with the ability to communicate to the nation through cyberspace (those interested would sign up on the White House web site) the administration would be utilizing a medium of communication more powerful than anything in our culture today. Imagine the effects direct communication would have on the support level for the administration and its policies? Instead of politics being something distant, impersonal, and filtered, it would be in our Inbox's to review on a daily basis. Even if you did not like the President's policies, I feel like the explanation provided in an e-mail for them would be more comforting and trust-worthy then the explanation you hear through today's media.

This is change I can believe in!

Until we meet again, goodbye!