On the one hand, I’m getting really pumped about the fact that the current presidential campaign is being augmented with communications from each camp on YouTube, Twitter, etc. The main reason it makes me happy is because I’m so completely sick of closed government and secrecy. The Bush administration is scarily closed and secretive.
So, if Obama is elected, I just really get the feeling he’d open up the windows and shutters on the White House to air it out a bit, and be a bit more transparent. And seriously, if the websites and podcasts and twitter updates are any indication…if the State of the Union Address (and other Presidential addresses) were to be made available via Podcast or something like that, I think it’d honestly have an impact. Bring the stuffy-ass institution that is the Presidency into the 21st Century. Who knows, maybe it’s highly unlikely, but hey…it’s an interesting thought.
Of course, I don’t think the same would even be possible if McCain were elected. He’s admitted that he’s computer-illiterate, and I’d imagine he wouldn’t make any effort to update such communication.
I mentioned “on the one hand.” Here’s the other hand: all this openness and internet-driven communication has totally killed a lot of faith I had in the American people. Perhaps I was naïve to have that faith in the first place. But yeah…it’s really killing me to see so much confirmation of the old phrase “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Too many suckers out there, and it’s starting to sadden me. The lies being bandied about by the McCain/Palin camp are so easily proven to be lies, yet there are millions of people out there who are buying it hook, line and sinker.
Add to all this, the fact that all these campaign promises are much more effectively collected and noted than they ever have been before. And when whoever gets elected doesn’t follow through on something, it’ll be interesting to see how big that list is. Data collection has never been as accurate and complete as it is today. Let’s see what we do with it.