On the flip side of technology

Is the gap between "having an Internet guy" on the team, and actually "getting" the Internet and how it lets you directly connect with people all around the country. This essay is centered around Obama and whether he'll make the leap to using electronic means for real organizing activity, but the message there is one that many politicians need to learn.

If candidates think they can outsource their emails to “Internet guys,” then why not outsource their role in ads to actors? When they do “call time” to large donors, why not use someone who does a good voice impersonation? You can’t outsource a real personal connection between yourself and your supporters. Come on people: you’re our leaders, this is a new medium for leadership, pick it up with your own two hands and see what you can do with it.

By the time the current crop of college students hits the Insider League, this will be obvious, but right now there's an opportunity to be the first to understand the power of the new medium and make out like a bandit as a result. I hope the one to manage that is somebody I like....

(via Atrios)