I have read through Obama's policies on his website and I think he has a lot of great ideas, some of which I wish he would mention more on the stump. One idea that has not gotten a lot of attention is his technology policy proposals, so I thought I'd highlight a few here. I posted this in another thread but someone suggested that I post it as a separate thread.
He has some great ideas about using the White House website as a vehicle for citizen participation. He proposes adding a comments section and giving citizens five days to post comments before signing or vetoing all non-emergency legislation. I think that's a great idea and wish he would mention it in his stump speech, because it is an example of his philosophy that lobbyists and special interests would have less influence if people were paying attention and got involved.
On his website, he proposes: "Establishing pilot programs to open up government decision-making and involve the public in the work of agencies, not simply by soliciting opinions, but by tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry to help government make more informed decisions."
He also talks about making more government data available to American citizens via the web, and requiring cabinet departments to post a live feed of significant business meetings so citizens can watch.
I think these are some great ideas that go to the heart of what he is about: making government of, by, and for the people again by creating greater transparency and accountability and giving citizens the tools to get engaged and hold their government accountable.
You can read more about his technology proposals and his ideas about making the government more transparent through technology at
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/#transparent-democracyOne thing I'd like to hear thoughts on is whether people think it's a good idea for him to mention some of this on the stump. I think the upside of that is that it shows his talk about changing the way the government operates is not just rhetoric, that he has a plan to back it up. And the plus of some of these proposals is that most of them are things he might be able to implement without having to get approval from Congress, since they deal with managing the executive branch.
The downside to focusing on these proposals is that it could play into the "elitist" meme, making him seem out of touch with working class voters who may not have internet access.
Thoughts? Hopefully this won't sink too fast because it does not attack anyone.