Could Obama’s Tech Prowess Translate from Campaigning to Governing?

According to TechPresident.com, which tracks the use of technology in the presidential campaign, YouTube alone has generated more than 14 million hours of ad view time for Barack Obama. That’s compared to less than 500,000 for John McCain. According to Joe Trippi’s mathematical wizardry, that would amount to about $47 million in airtime costs (compared to about $1.5 million for McCain.)
So besides the stunning amount of free media Obama has been able to get from the web, he also now has a huge foundation of support in this online community that he can mobilize as president to potentially engage in his legislative agenda.
In other words, if there are a handful of congressional Republicans who are blocking his energy proposal, Obama could easily keep younger and more web-savvy supporters engaged beyond the election by exposing the obstructionist culprits in a clever YouTube video. Don’t underestimate the power of a YouTube video once it goes viral, just ask George Allen.
If Obama’s smart, the vast wealth of new voters he’s accrued won’t just disappear after the election, but they’ll actually remain involved in government at a level we’ve never seen before, and that could transform the electorate in a way nobody has really anticipated. Of course, this could be my naïveté at work. But it’s certainly possible, and it would force the GOP to tailor its message more to younger voters.
Doug Daniels is a regular contributor to Politics magazine.Doug1856@msn.com