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At sixteen I believed the moonlight
could change me if it would.
I moved my head
on the pillow, even moved my bed
as the moon slowly
crossed the open lattice.
Change is happening, and though we're weeks from the Inaugural, we're years into the change on the Internet. From web-based political action committees through web-driven campaigns to web-centered efforts at political rebranding, the web has redefined our politics. And it's still changing.
Hello, Mr. President-Elect
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.I will give you no more hiding place down here.
It strikes me as rather astonishing to see our President-Elect speaking to us directly not on television but on YouTube.
No, it's not much. 90 seconds of broad-brush statements of policy intentions. But it's a weekly address. And it's direct to us, featured on the home page of Change.gov.
When the Barack Obama Presidential Transition Team launched Change.gov, we saw for the first time what could be an entirely new political site — one that establishes a conversation between the White House and the voters.
Change.gov is an official website, not a campaign site.
This site is for the Office of the President-elect and Office of the Vice President-elect, as recognized by the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended (3 USC 102 note). The Presidential Transition Act specifically authorizes the Administrator of GSA to provide services and support to the Office of the President-elect beginning the day after the election until 30 days after the inauguration to support the orderly transfer of executive power after a general election.
"Hallelujah," writes Kate Lear in the Huffington Post.
One of the many challenges facing this presidency is how to retain and grow the spirit of good will and activism that was ignited during the campaign. Building on the singular success of BarackObama.com, this new website has the ability to engage the American people as never before and become a hallmark of Obama's presidency....
...A major reason why millions of Americans became involved in the Obama campaign was because it was so easy to do -- BarackObama.com was a brilliantly efficient website. Change.gov seems to be just as user-friendly and flexible and as such has the potential to engage all Americans, not just Obama supporters. In the best of all worlds, it could be a depository of information about the issues, activities and goals of the new administration. But, more importantly, it could be used as a call-to-action and a hub of ideas about ways that we can help our country during this difficult time.
BlogHer Liz Henry writes on her blog:
This could mean real participation in government. Activism - real activism but built into our government - mobilization of people who have the most time and energy, not through churches and charities but through an organized infrastructure for nationwide civil service.
Walking the walk (one way, anyway)
you get yours
and i'll get mine
if i learn
to sit and wait
you got yours
i want mine
and i'm gonna get it
cause i gotta get it
cause i need to get it
if i learn how
On the Save the Internet blog, Megan Tady writes:
His very first two points marked a commitment to preserving Net Neutrality and promoting diversity in the media.
The plan says an Obama administration will:
- Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.
- Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Barack Obama believes that the nation’s rules ensuring diversity of media ownership are critical to the public interest. Unfortunately, over the past several years, the Federal Communications Commission has promoted the concept of consolidation over diversity. As president, Obama will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum.
It certainly sounds promising. Beth Dunn is less sanguine.
So far, what I have seen is a certain amount of pulling back on the Obama team’s part. During the campaign
