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My final project for this class is a lengthy essay on “The Digital Presidency: How Technology is Transforming Politics.” Readers may view my essay on the above link.

I decided to do my final project on this subject because President-elect Barack Obama ran the most technologically sophisticated campaign in history. Throughout his campaign, Obama promised to bring people from diverse backgrounds together and to make government more transparent and efficient. He had an interactive campaign website and used social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to reach a large number of voters and to raise funds at the grassroots level. Now that he’s been elected, Obama wants to govern from cyberspace and has set up a website called change.gov, which gives citizens updates on the transition process as well as the means to post their own stories and videos.

My essay explores both the advantages and disadvantages of governing from cyberspace. Since the digital presidency is a relatively new topic, the majority of my sources were online. I found information on this topic through mainstream online publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The Guardian and Rocky Mountain News. My other sources were less mainstream and included the blog mathoda.com, publications such as FastCompany, newstrackindia, RealClearPolitics and The Huffington Post. I was also able to find one scholarly publication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill libraries concerning the Internet’s role in presidential campaigns. The writer contrasted the interactivity and user participatory features of the campaign websites of Obama, as well as Republican nominee John McCain and Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Mainstream or not, all sources agreed that the Obama campaign’s use of technology transformed political campaigns and has the potential to transform our governing processes.  For instance, Obama wants to set up a blog allowing citizens to post their views on legislation before he casts his vote.  The administration also is considering posting Cabinet meetings and weekly radio addresses on YouTube.  In order to succeed with a digital presidency, Obama and staff must work with all parties and must give ordinary Americans an easy way to become involved in the process.

If this type of presidency succeeds, America can become a truly transpartisan democracy.  If not, we’ll have more of the same failed policies of the past.

On the day after the election,  President-elect Obama is getting down to business.  One of the items he’ll need to deal with is America’s broken health care system.  He has a plan for doing so.  But another one of my classmates, Windye Barton, wonders if some additional steps aren’t necessary before America or any other country makes large-scale efforts to promote universal health care.  In her blog.  Windye discusses the long-term effect of millions of Americans, as well as those in other countries, who remain uninsured and have no access to basic health care.

While there are many arguments about the pros and cons of universal health care, Windye makes a good argument for “universal health literacy.”  I had never heard this term before, but Windye describes it as  getting people from all races, backgrounds and socioeconomic groups to develop health care solutions tailored to their own individual circumstances.  I agree.  While access to quality, affordable health care is a basic right, traditional “one size fits all” socialized plans haven’t totally provided for all the health care needs of citizens in Canada and Great Britian.  Obviously, privatized care such as we have in America hasn’t totally worked either.

I did some more research to back up Windye’s argument and discovered quite a few resources on health literacy, in addition to the ones she’s linked to.

A good site discussing health literacy is the American Medical Association Foundation.   One point brought out by this site that really reinforced the importance of developing health literacy is that most patients hide their fears and concerns from doctors because they  feel too ashamed and intimidated to ask.  Having had some health issues myself, I know that fear and intimidation.  But one day I decided to take matters into my own hands because no one knows my body and my concerns any better than I do.  I think our elected officials should implement health care literacy as part of any health care reform program.

Election Day is FINALLY here.   I voted early, so I won’t be at my polling place to see if there are any lines.  I hope things go smoothly nationwide and we don’t have the nightmare we had eight years ago when it was 36 days until we knew who our new president would be.  Already, ABC News reports scattered voting problems with long lines and malfunctioning machines.  Thinking about that election reminds me of fradulent election information circulating around the internet.  Another classmate, Randy Burton, discusses some false information that has been circulating via email, saying that Virginia Republicans were to vote on November 4 and Virginia Democrats were to vote on November 5.  This ties in with my earlier posts about the false information regarding our presidential candidates.   Randy provides links to several websites that provide evidence of this problem.  I might also add that the hoaxes haven’t been limited to just the internet.  Just this morning, a Republican party volunteer near Asheville, North Carolina, who was filming vehicle license plates at a polling place in order to make sure that “every vote is a legal one.”  Some residents of a nearby adult care home who were voting were intimidated by the camera.

As Randy points out, the impact of these email blasts can be significant.  Both major candidates could potentially lose votes as a result.  I’m wondering if some who had earlier planned to vote for McCain or Obama will now vote for a third party candidate.  Randy wisely points out that these emails may also increase the amount of racism and hatred we already have.  Those who respond to phishing emails may have to deal with identity theft.  Randy refers readers to snopes.com and liemails.com, among others, as ways voters may be able to get factual information.  I had referred to Snopes in an earlier post and know that it is a quality site.  Liemails is a new one to me.  Both of these sites seem like credible places to get information – notice I said CREDIBLE.  The internet has changed our lives in ways we could only have imagined 20 years ago.  Some of those changes are extremely positive, but as many of us have discovered, there are some negatives.  We have to know where to go to find the right information.

Randy also makes a very case for creating a public awareness campaign to make voters aware of the problem, having mainstream news organizations devoting time and space to the issue and getting the federal government to develop a clearinghouse website posting the false emails and correcting them.  These are very good suggestions for dealing with the problem.  I might also add that we as bloggers have a duty to write the truth.  We must remember that everything we write online can and will be held for or against us.

Since I’m not a regular on Facebook, I’d never given much thought to using it as a political debate forum.   My classmate, Bobby Ramsey, discusses some of his experiences debating the 2008 U.S. presidential race on Facebook, as well as his fears about using it as a forum.  Bobby discusses the partisan, emotional reactions that often surface during these forum discussions – his own and those of others.  When I read his thoughts I began thinking about the transpartisan movement.  We need to get beyond partisan politics and start discussing the real  issues.

Bobby details how he’s grown as a person and has learned not to necessarily believe all bloggers.  For instance, he points out how he took blogger Robert George’s remarks about Barack Obama being a pro-abortion extremist at face value.  Bobby goes on to say that he initially believed George because the blog seemed “authoritative” and because he was afraid that his own beliefs might be overthrown.  I’m sure we can all relate to these feelings of insecurity.  We all have a strong beliefs about certain issues and feel threatened when someone tries to challenge that belief.   Debates teach us lessons as well.  Although I’m an Obama supporter, I can learn something about Senator McCain that might change my perceptions of him.  I don’t really agree with most of McCain’s proposed policies, but this doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be at least one issue that I’d agree with him on or that he’s a bad person.

Bobby is very upfront in admitting to how his “irrational bias” toward Obama’s charisma and “star quality” made him overlook some of the Senator’s more redeeming traits.  I must admit this remark hit home for me – I’ve sometimes been so enamored with Obama’s charisma that I’ve not been able to see his faults, so it works both ways.  Bobby says blogs provide a two-way dialogue that can help us get past celebrity and down to the real person.  I’d never thought about it that way.

I think Bobby does a good job of pointing out how facial expressions and tone of voice are missing online, so we sometimes misinterpret what a person is saying.  He points out the need to remain calm and patient while debating, and most importantly, admitting when we might be wrong.  Another solution might be to send the person you are debating with an in-house Facebook message, rather than continuing to debate on a public forum.  Bobby said this experience enabled him to realize that he was just having a difference of opinion with someone who might actually be a friend.

In summary, my classmates’ blog reinforced my belief that the internet and new technologies are transforming politics as we know it, but we must use caution in how we implement the technologies.

Each One Teach One Project:  Part 1

Background:

My biggest concern with how new technology is affecting our society is the inaccurate and misleading information about U.S. presidential candidates and their running mates. While the internet allows us access to more information about the candidates and their campaigns than mainstream radio, television and newspapers have offered, some of the information may cause voters to make ill-informed decisions about who our country’s next leader should be.

While bloggers sometimes have uncovered very accurate information overlooked by the mainstream media, such as Dan Rather’s inaccurate reporting about President Bush’s National Guard service, there are many other examples of confusing, inaccurate information about politicians. Examples range from whether or not U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is a Muslim who associates with terrorists to whether John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s baby Trig, is really her daughter Bristol’s child. While some believe Obama wasn’t born in the United States, there are others who have spread rumors saying McCain wasn’t born in the United States either.

Some inaccurate information also concerns the candidates’ proposals for healthcare reform, taxes and gun control. Some sources believe Obama would unfairly tax small businesses and take away Americans right to own a gun, while others believe McCain’s healthcare plan will threaten existing workplace health insurance plans.

My Five Biggest Fears:

1. Voters will make uniformed decisions based on fear and emotion, rather than fact
2. Candidates will try even harder to cover up past mistakes in hopes they won’t be “found out”
3. Voters will shy away from voting on real issues such as the economy, the environment and international relations, and will dwell on less relevant issues, such as a candidate’s family life
4. Voters will become even more untrusting of candidates than they already are
5. Our country will become divided and polarized than it already is

Websites Dealing with This Problem:

1. Obama Crimes: First of all, I can’t find an “About” or “About Us” link on this website. The site appears to be written by Philip J. Berg, Esquire, of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, about alleged “crimes” committed by Barack Obama. I Googled Berg’s name, and found that he’s filed a lawsuit in federal court, asserting that Obama is not a natural born citizen of the United States and is therefore not qualified to be President. Berg goes on to say that Obama lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. As “evidence,” Berg claims Obama’s birth certificate has been altered and doesn’t contain an embossed seal. Berg has filed a lawsuit against Obama. The case has been dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but Berg is appealing the decision. Clicking through various pages on the website, I can’t find where Berg is getting his information. I searched Berg’s name some more. I learned that he’s a former Democratic operative who strongly supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries and have to wonder if he is still angry that Clinton didn’t get the nomination.
2. Babble: At least there is an “About Us” section, listing photos, names and backgrounds of the site’s editors and writers. The site claims to be a resource for new parents, and it may indeed be. One of the articles, however, concerns Bristol Palin’s pregnancy and alleges that Governor Palin’s fifth child, Trig, is really her daughter Bristol’s and that Bristol is pregnant for a second time. The author posts a photo of Governor Palin when she was supposedly seven months pregnant but doesn’t look pregnant. There is also a photo of her when she is obviously pregnant and the author says it was an earlier pregnancy, but we don’t have a date. Here’s another photo of the Governor that was supposedly taken last winter. She’s obviously pregnant in this one, but here again, how do we know when it was taken?
3. American Power:  This blog clearly states that it comes from a “neoconservative perspective.” It’s difficult for me to place any credibility in a site that describes itself as “neoconservative” any more than a site that claims to be “far left.” The blog’s author, Donald Douglas, says he despises the far-left agenda and cites information regarding Obama’s alleged associations with 1960s radical William Ayers. The blog doesn’t state anything more than the facts that Ayers and Obama live in the same neighborhood, have served together on boards, The blog points to a link from reporter Ben Smith of Politco. However, when I go to the Politico site, I can’t find the article – just today’s news on Politico. An in-depth search yields little more results. Nowhere does this blog show me that William Ayers has been anything more than an acquaintance to Obama.  Updated info – I’ve responded to Professor Douglas’ comments below and cited a link from FactCheck.org regarding whether or not Obama and Ayers are pals.
4. YouTube - This site is a YouTube video of an ad by the Obama campaign, alleging that McCain’s $5,000 tax credit allowing people to purchase health insurance, will actually go to the health insurance companies rather than the taxpayers. As the ad says, McCain’s website does say this. However, this line of attack doesn’t really work for those of us who already have health insurance.
5. Expose Obama – These bloggers describe themselves as concerned conservatives who believe Obama would be the worst president ever, and is just a “more stylish Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.” According to their “About Us” page, they have worked in various political campaigns through the years, but there are no references to which campaigns.
6. Momcrats - This site is called “Momcrats,” but I can’t find anything that really tells me who the authors are. Maybe they are mothers who are Democrats? Hard to tell. They lash out at Sarah Palin for cutting funding for special needs children. According to factcheck.org, Palin actually increased funding for this group. There are commenter’s on the Momcrats site who say the same thing.

Possible Solutions to the Problem:

There are several solutions to the problem of misinformation about the candidates. First, get the facts. One very good site to get unbiased, factual information is FactCheck. Ran by the Annenberg School of Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, FactCheck monitors the accuracy of television and radio ads, press releases, speeches, interviews and debates, in an attempt to provide voters with unbiased, factual information. Regarding Senator Obama’s birth certificate FactCheck staffers have seen, touched, examined and photographed the birth certificate and believe it to be authentic. Some have also believed that Senator McCain is not a U.S. citizen because he was born on a military base in Panama, but FactCheck has verified that he is a citizen also. FactCheck also monitors the candidates’ policies on education, healthcare and numerous other issues, sorting out fact from rumor.

Another site that seeks to dispel rumors is Snopes.com This site contains some links verifying Obama’s birth certificate information. There are also a variety of other links regarding Obama, Palin, McCain and various other politicians. Snopes has a color-coded system indicating whether the rumor is true, false, contains multiple grains of truth or is undetermined.

One mainstream news sources that has a Fact Check section is CNN. The site contains a fact check on a variety of issues involving both candidates. For instance, the tax calculator on Obama’s website is “true but incomplete.” The calculator gives generally accurate calculations on tax decreases some people may get under Obama’s plan, but doesn’t give any indication of increases that some taxpayers may be hit with.

Obama’s campaign has also created a new website called Fight the Smears. This site seeks to dispel rumors about Obama’s citizenship, religion, alliances with terrorists and a number of other issues. In some cases, Fight the Smears refers readers to FactCheck or a mainstream news sources, such as the Chicago Tribune or New York Times. In other instances, Obama himself says the allegations are untrue.

None of these sites are 100 percent reliable and no candidate is perfect.  The candidates themselves sometimes spout erroneous information about each other in order to get votes.  However, voters will be better informed and better satisfied by taking time to research as many facts as possible. Doing so will enable them to vote for a candidate with positions and beliefs that closely match their own.

Part of this week’s assignment is to write a post containing interesting information and things I’ve learned from reading my classmates’ blogs.

Tyler Ritter’s Lost and Found blog:

I enjoyed reading Tyler’s blog Lost and Found.  Tyler blogs about her grandmother’s creative spirit and craftsmanship and how the women’s liberation movement has affected today’s women.  Like Tyler, I grew up in the North Carolina mountains, learning crafts, sewing and other domestic skills.  We were a product of the era and were doing what women were “expected to do.”  About the same time, the women’s liberation movement was gaining strength and girls and women were presented with very different possibilities for their lives  We were told that sewing and needlework were useless.  No longer did we need to be chained to the house, cooking and raising children.  As Tyler mentions in her blog, many of us have struggled with self-esteem and with “finding our place.”  There was a period in which I pretty much denied my feminine side  – I needed to “act tough,” “be one of the boys,” and focus the vast majority of my energy on my career.  All this was well and good.  I learned that I could do anything I set my mind to and I truly learned to take care of myself.  As time went on, there was no denying another part of myself.  I became a mother.  I had put so much energy into developing my “tough” side that it was somewhat unsettling for me to realize that I had a nurturing side.

Tyler wonders whether or not we’ve come full circle.  Maybe in some ways yes.  Women have discovered that they can have careers while being mothers.  We now have women politicians – something we pushed for in the 1960s and 1970s.  At the same time, those involved in the transpartisan movement are convening in summits to discuss family-centered politics. Women have discovered that it isn’t easy to find a balance.  We must rely more and more on our own creative spirits to accomplish these goals.

Suzanne Jeffries My Write Voice Blog:

I can relate to Suzanne’s My Write Voice blog.   Suzanne and I are both former print newspaper journalists.  We’ve experienced the daily deadlines.  We learned writing and typing before the computer era.  We’ve sat at our keyboard trying to find inspiration. We’ve both worked in nonprofit community relations.  Suzanne, however,  has kept her promise to herself and moved into creative writing (something I have yet to do).  In her blog, she explores how the web can expose writers to global literary works that help them find their voice.  I think she’s onto a very interesting and unusual topic.

Suzanne stresses that writers must write diligently and must read and read.  I can’t agree more.  She researches several sites related to her topic and describes how some of them offer aspiring writers an online community of like-minded individuals while others have little to offer or have outdated information. I had never given much thought to whether or not aspiring creative writers have access to online information or communities.  I think her blog offers a useful resource to those wishing to find inspiration and their true voice.

Like Tyler’s blog, Suzanne blog offers an opportunity to further explore the creative processes.

Randy Burton’s Players and Pickers Site:

Exploring the creative process continues. Randy Burton’s Players and Pickers site offers readers a look at various guitar styles.  Not being a guitarist myself, I didn’t know so many different styles existed.  Randy’s in-depth knowledge of various guitarists and their styles comes across in the blog.  He discusses playing styles ranging from Eric Clapton to Maybelle Carter to Doc Watson.  Randy offers some food for thought – why do two different guitarists playing the same style sound different?

The Players and Pickers site provides links to a variety of guitar-related sites, including some that provide audio instruction on playing styles.  Serious guitarists are sure to find a link that will provide resources that will help them develop their playing style.

Randy does a really good job of identifying the traits of a quality website.  He discusses the importance of being concise and how proper placement of website graphics are crucial in evaluating a site.

Obama speaks in Asheville, N.C. (Asheville Citizen-Times photo)

Ok, I know this is not supposed to be a blog that endorses a particular candidate or party – I’m finding information about a movement that seeks to go beyond parties and ideologies.  But I’m going to be honest – I am a  Barack Obama supporter.  I’m not supporting him just because he is a Democrat either.  I truly think he is very close to being a transpartisan and wants to unify our country. When I found out he was speaking at a rally today in Asheville, N.C., I had to be there.  The rally was only an hour from my home in Sylva and I wanted to see the man.  I also thought the rally would be a good experience for my 12-year-old son.

After standing in line for hours, we finally got into the Asheville High School football stadium and waited another two hours to hear his speech.   Senator Obama said we can accomplish anything we want if we are unified – that seems like a very transpartisan statement to me.  While there was some partisan rhetoric in his remarks and some attacks on Senator John McCain, he mostly talked about our country’s economic woes and the broken health care system.  Senator Obama admits it won’t be easy to solve these problems and he’ll have to deal with a political system that is deeply entrenched in old, worn out ways of doing things, but he won’t stop trying.  I think that’s the kind of attitude our next president and our country as a whole needs.

As I write this post, I feel as though my brain is on “political overload” – the Biden-Palin debate, McCain deciding to call it quits in Michigan, wondering if Obama will win North Carolina.  There’s a lot of information about the mainstream candidates.  And yes, I read it – it is important.  But what about the other candidates?  Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party, Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party, independent Ralph Nader,  Socialist Brian Moore? I found a site that provides an overview of these candidates and their latest news. The Independent Political Report provides a round-up of several “third parties” as well as independents.  There’s a convenient directory of the various parties and affiliations on the left side of the page.  There’s even an entry for “non-left/right parties.”  I learned something interesting - Colorado’s election ballot will list 16 presidential candidates! I’ve never seen an election ballot in North Carolina with that many choices! The choices in Colorado even include the Prohibition, Objectivist and HeartQuake parties.  I learn something new every day.  According to their website, the Objectivists are a relatively new party who believes no man has the right to use force.  I can’t find a website for the HeartQuake party or their candidate Jonathan E. Allen.  I did find another WordPress site called the Pied Pipe which mentions the HeartQauke candidate.  This blogger can’t find any information on the party either.   I think the strong point of the Independent Political Report is its easy navigation.  I can easily find something on just about every third party or independent candidate out there.

Today’s pick for the worst site goes to the MeetupAlliance.  This site contains a directory listing of several transpartisan and alternative political and nonprofit organizations.  Other than a directory listing, I have a hard time understanding the purpose of this site.  There are lots of “coming soon” links.  I don’t like that.  I like to be able to find what I need on a site, when I need it.

The research continues – I’m finding plenty of sites pertaining to the transpartisan movement, but very few that seem to be of high quality.  My pick for best quality today is the Liberty Coalition site.  The site does a very good job of explaining the Liberty Coalition’s purpose which is to work, organize and promote transpartisan public policy related to civil liberties and basic rights.  According to the site, the Liberty Coalition is working to promote an electronic bill of rights, a patient quality of care project and a medical privacy coalition.  I was intrigued by the site’s link “Grass Roots Solution” only to click on it and find no content.  I also clicked on the “Events” link only to find a blank calendar.  Despite these drawbacks, the Liberty Coalition site does provide a good overview of the organization’s mission, goals and projects, as well as ways for interested citizens to take action.  The whole time I spent reading the site, I couldn’t help  thinking that the Coalition is really a Libertarian organization, since there are  so many references to  personal liberties.  I’m sure many Libertarians may identify with the Coalition’s work.

My worst pick of the day goes to Transpartisan.org.I clicked the link and there was nothing there except a banner and some text saying Transpartisan.org will serve as the homepage for the Transpartisan Policy Institute.  There is a brief explanation of what transpartisanship is and what the Institute is.  I don’t think it’s a good idea to launch a site unless there’s some content to post.

Day 4:

My best pick for today is an update of a site that I was critical of just the other day – Indigo Coach.  The blogger – Nancy Boyd – took my remarks seriously and elaborated a bit more on transpartisanship.  I had commented that she only said she was inspired by the movement and linked to another site which defined transpartisanship.  It looks as though Nancy has thought a bit more about the movement.  Nancy says that if Indigos want to be change agents, they  must look at polarity and see how self-serving it is.  Nancy also believes transpartisanship is in line with her own beliefs, which she describes as “progressive Green.”  Good for you Nancy!  It looks as though you are thinking about this movement and what it means to you personally as well as to your associates.

My day 4 worst pick is a post from Green Zone Online. The blogger makes some good points about liberals and conservatives coming together and how many people are coming from a place of emotion rather than rational thought.  There’s a YouTube video on the site featuring Senator John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts) and former Representative Newt Gingrich (Republican-Georgia) discusssing a book about global climate change.  While this video is certainly a good example of two very different politicians coming together, the rest of the site contains very few examples of transpartisanship.  Green Zone describes itself as an arena where an avid sportsman can come together with an activist vegetarian.  This sounds wonderful – there are many people who would like to be part of such a movement.  The site fails to describe how the avid sportsman and the activist vegetarian can find common ground, however.

Reuniting America is an example of a good website dealing with the transpartisanship movement.  Based on my readings, this organization is closely aligned with the Transpartisanship Alliance.  Like some other sites, Reuniting America does a good job of explaining what transpartisanship is and provides a link to transpartisan events.  Some of these include last September’s Third Conference on Democracy in America and the Transpartisan Dialogue on Iran.  Numerous other events are listed and the links provide some detail about what was talked about.  So many of the sites I have come across merely define transpartisanship and provide a bit of information about what the movement attempts to accomplish.  This site actually talks about some events and some of the issues discussed, such as family-centered policies and national energy problems. The site also has a clean, professional design and is easy to navigate.

One of the worst sites I came across today belongs to the Earth Intelligence Network.  I didn’t learn anything from this site that I didn’t already know.  There’s a definition of transpartisanship, a link to Wikipedia defining transpartisanship, a link to the Greater Democracy blog, and another link to someone named Don Beck – this last link doesn’t even work!  There are also some typographical errors on the site – this lessens the credibility of the site.  I need more information and a bit more professionalism before I could trust this site.