In recent elections, the Internet
has been seen as an invaluable
resource for candidates to harness
in spreading the platform of their
political campaigns and connecting
on a more personal basis with
their supporters. However, after
the polls are closed and a new face
assumes the office of presidency,
such tactics are often kicked to
the wayside.
This is not the case with President
Barack Obama, who believes
such direct connections should
be maintained long after the oath
of office. On Tuesday, in a bold
move, Obama hosted the first-ever
online town hall discussion, in effect
holding a modern-day “fireside chat.”
Submitting himself to the public,
Obama stood before a live
audience, answering a myriad of
questions on issues ranging from
education to health care. Nearly
100,000 individuals participated
in the online event via a special
interactive portal hosted on
WhiteHouse.gov.
Due to the high influx of submissions,
only selected questions
could be answered. However, even
this aspect was in control of the
online community, who voted for
what they believed were the most
important issues. Once promoted
by sufficient popularity, these questions
were then combined with the
queries of a live audience seated in
the East Room of the White House.
The experimental online town
hall is believed to be a resounding
success in establishing Obama’s
policy of government transparency.
Although previous presidents had
held online chats with the public in
the past, nothing to this scale had
ever been attempted. This has led
many technology advocates to hold
the conviction that this, and future
town halls, will prove the Internet
is as effective a medium for campaigning
as it is for governing.
As part of an online social outreach
program dubbed “Obama
2.0,” this event is the first of many.
It is part of an initiative to increase
public involvement with the very
people who govern them. There is
high hope that such participation
will effectively establish a sense of
contribution that permeates beyond
the World Wide Web, bringing individuals
across the nation to feel
more compelled to provide feedback
and support for the plethora of
programs Obama wishes to put into
place. As the Obama presidency
exits its earliest stages, it surely
needs the support of the people.
Rensselaer’s own Progressive
Student Alliance also believes in
advocating technology to connect
the public under the common goal
of getting individuals involved
and informed. As part of this
goal, a new website is being
launched later this week that
will provide RSS feeds, photo
galleries, YouTube videos, and
a host of interactive polls and
content, to get the RPI community
more connected not only with
our club, but with the politics
that so directly involve us. Please
visit http://psa.union.rpi.edu/">http://psa.union.rpi.edu/ on
Saturday, April 4, to participate
in the launch of our new site.
Editor’s Note: “Liberal Bias,”
“From the Elephant’s Peanut
Gallery,” and “The Latent Spark”
are an opinion column granted
by the Editorial Board to the
Progressive Student Alliance,
College Republicans, and College
libertarians and rotate triweekly.
