Is Barack Obama's idea-gathering website just for show?

The incoming Obama administration's Internet solicitation of voters' advice could signal a push for e-democracy. Or it could be just a gimmick.

Want to join a policy debate? Your e-mail will appear on change.gov. Readers then rate your submission using icons whose thumbs are up or down. Submissions that are deemed the best rise to the top of the screen.

To proponents, these efforts by Obama's team to build a Web-based network of support can democratize the government anew. To skeptics, however, change.gov is little more than a clever public-relations device, a way to keep Obama's fans ... Full Story »

Posted by Dale Penn

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3.5
by Robert M Schacht - Dec. 11, 2008

The author fails to note that there is a similar website at change.org that has similar aspirations, but is not directly connected to the Obama transition. Its method of gathering ideas is a little different. Right now, Change.org is collecting ideas, arranged in 29 "causes." Next month, it will hold a run-off among the top 3 ideas in each cause, concluding just before Obama's inauguration.

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