Tag Archives: Obama

Everything WILL be different

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You know that scene in the old horror movies where one of the female characters is hysterical and the female lead slaps her to snap her out of it?  That’s what came to mind reading this post by Dave Winer, explaining why Barack Obama does, in fact, represent change. The entire post is must-read for Obama supporters, but here’s my favorite idea:

“Think of it like this. One day you’re using Windows and wake up the next day and all your computers are running Mac OS X. It’s still a computer. It’s still fundamentally the same experience. But it works a bit more logically, and you don’t get in trouble as often. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a bit better.”

I’ve been put off by some of Obama’s recent moves, and people are lining up to tell me, “See!? See!? He’s no different! He’s just another politician! Don’t you feel like a chump now?”

Actually, I feel more like the father who’s son keeps getting the shit kicked out of him on the playground and finally gets up and kicks the bigger kid in the balls. Playing nice only works when everyone is doing it.

If the only change we get from Obama is he’s not Bush… that will be enough.

“Candidates for Sale”

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I’ve said on more than one occasion that Matt Taibbi is my favorite political reporter. I tend to believe the things he writes. And his latest piece in Rolling Stone makes my stomach hurt. Here’s the short version:

“For all the excitement that Barack Obama has garnered, and all the talk about a new day in Washington, it would be tragic if the real legacy of his election victory was to finally expose the essentially unchanging, oligarchic nature of our political system. It’s the same old story: Money talks, and bullshit walks. And don’t be surprised if we’re the ones still walking after November.”

I’m not ready to flush my hope for Obama yet, but I promised I’d own my support for the guy. And do it here.

This post is about technology and media, not politics.

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I "follow" Barack Obama’s Twitter feed. If you don’t know what that means, it’s okay (unless you happen to be a journalist). A few minutes ago the campaign "tweeted" that the senator was getting ready to speak in Springfield, Missouri and I could watch it live by clicking the included link.

Obamalivevideo

It took me to the "live" page on the Obama website where a USTREAM player was feeding live video. As I write this there are 830 viewers. Only a fraction of the number watching on the cable news channels that might be airing this speech.

I mention this only because no "traditional media" were necessary to make this happen. The Obama campaign has an email address for each of the millions (?) of people who have contributed to his campaign. We all got a ping that he was about to speak.

[901 viewers]

I think this is huge. Sure, a campaign still need MSM to get elected. Today. Will that be as true four years from now? Will it be true at all 8 years from now?

[1,045 viewers]

Of course it is not just the live stream. This speech –and all of the others– will be available from now until election day. And beyond?

[1,095 viewers]

You are your lapel pin

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LapelpinsI’m not much on symbols. Like the endless array of ribbons you can stick on the back of your car. Or the little red Fight AIDS ribbons that were so much in vogue. And flag pins for your lapel. Senator Obama caught a lot of shit because he sometimes didn’t wear one. So he must not love his country, right. Uh huh.

I sometimes wear a little computer mouse pin in my lapel and it drives people nuts trying to figure out what it is. Sometimes a button that reads: Never Shake. The actual reference is to babies, but I choose to use it as a warning not to shake someone my age (we pee very easily).

I debated pin or no-pin for my photo with Senator Obama a couple of weeks back but finally opted to show my support for Gnomies everywhere.

Obama-McCain Twitter Debate

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This is probably one of those ideas that sounds more interesting than they turn out to be. But I’ll be following along, just because I have the hots for AMC.

“Starting tonight, a designated representative of both of the major presidential campaigns are going to participate in a free-wheeling debate on technology and government, moderated by Time magazine blogger Ana Marie Cox and channeled via Twitter.” – Personal Democracy Forum/techPresident

Obama’s management style sounds familiar

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This NYT story reminded me one of my favorite management stories (The Cleanest Tastee Freeze in Town). A couple of grafs in particular:

“No state was more important to his candidacy than Iowa, but when (Senator Obama) arrived there for campaign visits he stopped aides who tried to give detailed accounts of developments.”

“I’d get in the car with him and talk a mile a minute,” recalled Paul Tewes, who was the campaign’s state director. Mr. Tewes recalled that on the candidate’s fifth visit to the state, Mr. Obama interrupted one of his detailed updates, saying: “You know what, Paul? All I want from you is for you to do your best, and I trust you and you know what you’re doing.”

In the years that I reported to Clyde Lear, I heard him say (to me and others) almost those exact words, more times than I can count. I’ve heard many talk the talk in this regard, but only a few that could walk the walk. Nice to know Senator O is one of them.

Obama Fund Raiser

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Picture_1

Remember the first time you had your picture taken sitting on a pony? Or in Santa’s lap? Or that first prom photo? That’s exactly what it was like getting my picture taken with Senator Barack Obama at last night’s fund raiser in St. Louis. Assuming of course that you waited in line for two hours with 250 other kids and paid two grand for that pony picture.

This was my maiden voyage in the world of political fund raisers and I had no idea what to expect. My friends Henry and Lorna were there too, all of us first-timers. In fact, a lot of the people I met and spoke to were first-time contributers. I thought that was interesting, given that it cost $2,300 for the privilege of having your photo taken with the man that that might be the next president of the U. S. But these were true believers and everyone seemed happy to pony up. (no pun intended)

It’s just a guess, mind you, but I figure they took in more than half a million from the VIP’ers and –at $500 per– another $200,000 from those that heard Senator Obama speak but didn’t get to shake his hand. Closing in on 3/4 of a million dollars. Not big by GOP standards but not too shabby for a couple of hours.

So, what do you say to the man you hope will be your next president when you have about 10 seconds with him? I had narrowed my remarks down to three possibilities:

“O. Kay Henderson says hey”
Kay is the news director of Radio Iowa and interviewed Senator Obama numerous times during the early days of the campaign for the Iowa Caucuses. I imagined the senator responding with something like, “You know Kay Henderson? No shit?! Tell the girl hey back.”

“I’ve been waiting all my life for a president with a good jump shot.”
I scratched that one quickly given the racially charged atmosphere of this campaign.

“In the sixties we thought we’d change the world. You’ve made us believe again that we can.”
“You did, you did change the world” was the senator’s response. At least that’s what I heard. I confess I was pretty star-struck. Which surprised me a little. The aides hustled us through the line quickly and in a couple of days we can go to a website and download that pricey photograph. We’ll share it here, of course.

I guess I’m really “all in” now, as far as campaign contributions. And I’m glad I had last night’s experience. There was a very exciting vibe in the room throughout and I kept trying to imagine a John McCain event sparking the same tent revival feel that pervaded the evening. I think they’re gonna need a lot of swift boats.

PS: Henry (retired MD) gave Senator Obama a tip on how to stop smoking. Not sure what Lorna said. Lorna reports she said, “I hope we’re not sucking your energy.” A nice thought but kind of risky in such a noisy room.

PPS: I didn’t get any good photos because I didn’t want to move around or risk a cavity search by the Secret Service guys. Here’s the VIP line before it got long and rowdy. If you look closely you can see the  “x”  taped on the floor so the  Senator would know where to stand.

UPDATE: Leading Democratic fundraisers predict that Sen. Barack Obama could raise $100 million in June and could attract 2.5 million to 3 million new donors to his campaign.

Obama’s spirituality

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In 2004, Chicago Sun-Times religion writer Cathleen Falsani interviewed freshman state legislator Barack Obama about his spiritual beliefs. Earlier this year, she republished the entire interview on her blog. Here are a few paragraphs from that interview [pulled selectively]:

"I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."

"I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others."

"I’m a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it’s best comes with a big dose of doubt. I’m suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding."

"The most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I’m talking to a group and I’m saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I’m just being glib or clever.
I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God’s mandate."

"I think there is this tendency that I don’t think is healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them."

"What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing."

For all the sturm and drang –and endless showing of a couple of video clips– surrounding the Reverend Wright… I don’t even know what to call it… issue? We learned precious little about Senator Obama’s faith and spirituality. This blog post offers a useful insight.