The Struggle for White House 2.0

You may have heard about the arguments going back and forth about whether or not President Obama gets to keep his BlackBerry and e-mail while president. Seems crazy in 2009 to cut the President off from the forms of communication that we're all so accustomed to, but both Clinton and Bush did it - it's standard.

Obama objected, though. After expressing a desire to keep his beloved smartphone and e-mail privileges in the White House, a debate erupted about the possible ramifications of a wired president. Would all of his mobile communications be made available to the public in the same manner that all written correspondence is required to be? What about all of the possible security concerns?

But Obama, like so many of us, understands the benefits of living in a wired world. When asked about his desire to keep the device, he has stressed the importance of staying connected to friends and family out in the real world, away from the bubble of Washington and the White House. To the new president, e-mail isn't just a matter of convenience; it's a necessity in his decision-making process.

It’s puzzling why it took so long for the experts to look for a solution to the technological blackout in the White House. We, the Internet Generation, would have immediately began finding or developing the technology to “make it work” (a la Project Runway’s Tim Gunn) years ago.

For now, Obama seems to have won the first battle in the war to update the White House. Reports say that he’s getting a fancy, BlackBerry-like smartphone... now dubbed the BarackBerry. Now we’ll just have to wait and see if the campaign that revolutionized electoral technologies can modernize their new digs in the White House - next stop, WiFi and laptops!

Candidates Enlist Youth Muscle, not Just Support

In what has been named “Camp Obama,” Illinois Senator Barack Obama has enlisted the help of his youth base by sponsoring a group of 1,500 "campers" to help aid his 2008 presidential campaign. Open to all ages but comprised of a majority of college students, the group's goals include reaching out to “Generation Facebook” in an effort to promote political activism. Stationed in Obama’s home-state of Illinois, volunteers go through training that seeks both to educate on the policies and promises of the Senator but also teach effective ways to go about spreading these messages to potential voters in what has been called “Campaigning 101.”

Similarly, former Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has developed his own system to entice young people to help the campaign raise money by offering commission on money raised for his campaign.

Candidates aren't just using young volunteers as free labor. Obama has in fact hired a youth coordinator to do young voter outreach and mobilization.

Other political hopefuls from both parties have started their own programs to appeal to those under 30. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) recently launched a program that involves both a text-messaging campaign and the hiring of her own full-time volunteer youth coordinator whose work includes bringing in support from the newly-developed Students for Hillary chapters located on college campuses across the country. Other initiatives include presidential contender John Edwards' recent cross-country college campus tour that aimed to spark campus mobilization in support of his campaign. Edwards has also hired a youth coordinator.