With the launch of change.gov [link], Obama appears to be staying the course. He’s not avoiding the conversation; he’s embracing it. And while there’s not much to the change.gov site currently, it’s the fragments that tell the story. And it’s a story of a continued commitment to interact with the people on a very personal basis:
“The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. It is about the great things we can do when we come together around a common purpose. The story of bringing this country together as a healed and united nation will be led by President-Elect Obama, but written by you. The millions of you who built this campaign from the ground up, and echoed your call for the change you wanted to see implemented by the Obama Administration – this process of setting up that new government is about you.”
As part of continuing that story, the Obama organization is asking the people of the US to share their stories and to share their goals.
In short, Obama has begun crowd-sourcing the political agenda.
At Ars Technica’s Julian Sanchez has a less breathless take:
In many ways, the site—fairly clearly still a work in progress—resembles that of any other government agency, with biographies of the transition team, backgrounders on the incoming president’s policy priorities, and links to information about the cabinet offices to be filled when the Obamas move into the White House on January 20. But the speed with which the site was launched may nevertheless be an attempt to signal that Obama is serious about his pledge to bring greater transparency to government, and to put more data online more rapidly for public comment. A Change.gov blog, for instance, promises regular updates on the transition process. […]
Perhaps most surprisingly, there’s a jobs page where visitors can submit applications for non-career positions in the new administration—including, apparently, some that “require Senate confirmation.” Forgive us if we’re a bit doubtful that the next Secretary of Defense will be chosen from the pool of online applicants, however.
Sanchez points to the Government Accountability Office outlining 13 challenges facing the new administration. Among these is the move from analog to digital television broadcast, which promises to be a difficult one. The GAO warns it could “undermine the public’s confidence in government” if it isn’t carried out smoothly.
RELATED: Talking Points Memo’s Joshua Micah Marshall gets a chuckle out of a truly radical org chart at change.gov.