Since Governor Sarah Palin gave a “shout out” to a third grade class during her only Vice Presidential Debate this past fall, I have had the urge to do the same. So my “Shout Out” goes to the Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean. I feel that it was his efforts with the “50-State Strategy” that gave President Elect Obama the infrastructure that he needed to have a successful campaign.
Howard Dean became a common household name during the 2004 presidential election when he parlayed his “grass roots” approach to the Internet. It was then that people like you and me actually became a part of the political process and were are able to help the candidate of our choice. It didn’t take knowing someone or having a special position in life to give aid or be a participant in the election. His recognition of the power of the Internet allowed the process to include all of us.
Flash forward 4 years and you have another candidate that learned the same lesson, Senator Obama. But this time Senator Obama rode the grass roots approach for the entire ride of the election. President Elect Obama has 915,202 members of his Facebook page alone. That doesn’t even count the millions of other people listed on Myspace, Black Planet, MiGente, and the countless other sites. These members feel well connected to him and had the joy of seeing all of their efforts to get him elected come to fruition.
So now the question is: “What to do with all of those people that are following him?” Will President Elect Obama continue this stream of consciousness and ask for their continued participation. I think so.
The one new thing that I appreciate about my local congressman is when he is about to vote on a new bill, he sends out a poll via an email to get a more immediate response of his constituents. Whether he votes the way I want him to or not, I still like the fact that he asked me what I thought. If President Elect Obama does that and keep us, the people of his grass roots campaign, engrossed in politics during his first term. He can ask of us anything. And he can certainly count on our support in 2012.
So hears to you, Howard Dean. Thanks for making us an intricate part of the election process.
