President Barack Obama has become the poster boy for the town hall both online and off, but it's interesting if we look back months before the November election Sen. John McCain challenged Pres. Obama to 10 town halls. Pres. Obama declined to holding so many town hall meetings.
Well, now that's in the past and Pres. Obama has traveled back and forth all over the country and recently holding a town hall overseas during his European tour. Most importantly, he recently held an online press conference where everyday Americans could send in questions for him to answer. The event was a historic first and perhaps one of the most talked about questions was one centered on the legalization of marijuana, to which Pres. Obama answered with a resounding "no."
This love affair with new, web 2.0 interactions is not new to his presidenccy, but was already commonplace during the election with the web sites the Obama campaign, as previously stated, but also with events such as the CNN YouTube debates where candidates, both Republican and Democrat participated.
The event took the ability of candidates to communicate for free with the American public and reversed it. Americans were then able to ask their questions to the different candidates and have them played during the debate. Some criticized this event as trivializing the importance of a presidential debate while others saw it as the natural move forward from FDR's fireside radio chats and the JFK/Nixon presidential debates, the first televised presidential debate.
Whether some believe the YouTube debates were democratizing or trivializing is beside the point. Events like the two YouTube debates paved the way for events such as the recent Obama online Press Conference.
Thousands of people send in their videos and in the end only half a dozen or so are answered, and how they are selected is subject for an entirely different blog post, but it truly is change from things as usual, from the status quo.
It is my humble opinion that any venue that can make the people participate more in this participatory democracy is advantageous. Videos can even become viral ads that with little money can reach many people and influence opinion. There may be glitches with them, but they are ways that bring many more people, providing they have access to technology, closer to power. It can be a new forum for keeping our leaders accountable.
Some Readings:
Videos Online
The YouTube election
Some Videos:
Republican CNN YouTube Debate Highlights
Democrat CNN YouTube Debate Highlights
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3 comments:
I have been waiting for someone to post about this! Good - and interesting!
I thought the CNN YouTube debates were a really great way for ordinary citizens to question and communicate with the candidates. The questions from youtubers were more specific and different than the usual general debate questions. Most importantly, this new format aligns with the whole idea of democracy. For me personally, it created a big contrast between the U.S. government system and my government. Chinese government has a yearly National Congress meeting, although there is voting involved, it is very mismanaged and the citizens do not have the chance to question the candidates, not even a debate between the candidates, rather it is just a long speech that usually lasts for three to five hours long.
To ask the candidates directly and on national TV, increases the transparency and in turn increases the accountability of the candidates and the government. This reminds the politicians that what they promise and say is not only for show but also have to be done. Overall, I agree with you that this kind of participatory democracy is advantageous for democracy.
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