As my partner Michael Elias pointed out this morning (and Jeremy Paxman did last night), this guy really knows how to use email:
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack
Really makes you feel special (even if you have no vote and are not allowed to donate, like me). It's no secret that Obama killed this election in part through his masterful use of email, SMS, viral videos and and social networking sites to:
- raise tons of money,
- get his message out unfiltered, and,
- generate huge enthusiasm which translated into a record voter turnout.
So what happens when this tech-savvy guy gets into the White House? Will we continue to get regular email updates from the President? That would be cool.
Will he use his direct channel to millions of Americans (and foreigners) to make the case for difficult policy decisions directly to the people? That could be revolutionary.
This Presidency will be the first truly web-enabled administration. I'm sure someone will call it Government 2.0 [cringe]. I think both Congress and the media could end up wrong-footed as Obama supplements the traditional political horse-trading process with direct campaigns to the people. It's going to be very interesting.
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