For anyone who still doubts that Barack is the best guy to take on John McCain then the following clip is a must see: Barack Obama on November's Contest.

I had an epiphany yesterday while talking to my ultra-hip cousin who lives in Harlem and is a big Obama supporter. We were discussing how it is that the traditional corporate media outlets continue to act as if today's Internet is still stuck in 2004. How they continue to offer their Orwellian take on reality as if most people don't compare the corporate narrative to the common narrative found and nurtured online.

They clearly don't get us or IT. (Information Technology to those who are acronym challenged.)

Politics 2.0 (mirrored by Web 2.0) arrived in the form of Howard Dean's candidacy in 2004 and the huge grassroots movement it inspired. The evolving social networks were still in their infancy. Bloggers and blogging sites were still developing the technology and processes by which this new medium would operate. Internet users were still in the process of navigating these new information sources, bonding with peers and sharpening their rhetorical blades for the battles to come.

It wasn't enough to drown out the corporate media's echo chamber, though, as they painted Howard Dean as that year's lunatic-fringe candidate. It wasn't enough to lift an electable populist over a marginal centrist. It wasn't enough to encourage millions of new people to turn out and make Ohio an impossibility through the weight of shear numbers.

It wasn't enough then, but four years later, an eon in Internet time, and the environment is totally new.

Politics 3.0 has arrived in the form of multiple revolutions in broadband access, computing power, social networking & blogging sites and convergence media technology combined with wide-spread acceptance of the online world as having as much, if not more, credibility as traditional broadcast media. We now have instant access to dozens of sources to double-check every factoid offered up by the press or pundits. We know multiple people online who bring new levels of understanding to just about any debate with multiple references of their own. People that we trust because we have verified their references in the past and found them to be accurate. Reality has a context and a nuance that the corporate media can never deliver - like watching a movie with no sound.

It's a brave new world four years after the 2004 debacle, and I believe Aldus Huxley would be pleasantly surprised.

I just finished reading Malcom Gladwell's <em><a href="http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/index.html" target="_blank">The Tipping Point</a></em>. In it he speaks about the nature of epidemics and how they are started. How are they spread? Who is responsible? What does an epidemic, a viral message, look like? It looks like the current evolution of the Internet. The reason I think Gladwell's book applies so uniquely to what we are seeing is the role that peers play online. The peer role in social networks and blogging sites is every bit as important as to who you listen to (and more importantly believe) in real life.

My cousin and I were discussing how we used to hear something on TV and the gut reaction was scepticism. Something about that statement just doesn't feel right. But it's only been the last few years that you might have already heard and researched a dozen differing views of that story by the time you hear it for the hundredth on the corporate media. In fact, the reasons most of us hear anything the corporate media has to say these days is by seeing it on sites like <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/" target="_blank">Talking Points Memo</a> or <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a> in the first place. They are the gateway to information for a growing number of Internet users.

Barack Obama and the team he has assembled clearly understand the Internet and the changing environment ushered in by Politics 3.0. They understand how to communicate their message through the white noise created by the corporate media. They know that more people will go to the <a ref="http://www.youtube.com/barackobama"> BarackObama.com YouTube page</a> to get confirmation of something they saw on CNN than to take that erroneous information at face value as in years past.

Barack gets us and IT. I have high expectations of an Obama Administration because of the level of understanding he clearly has. What's more is we have a directive from the man himself that the election is only the first step in this process. There is no more luxury of voting every four years and then going back to sleep. We have Congressional representatives that need virtual and literal foots in their asses to get this legislation written and passed. There are corporate special interests that need to be replaced by citizen special interests. There are a million and I things that need to be done that no one man can do alone.

Having a president who understands how technology can weave us together to face and overcome those challenges as a united front.  We certainly live in interesting and exciting times.

I came across a story earlier this month that really pissed me off. 

I realize that it is from USA Today, which makes it automatically suspect for many, but the core study that the story speaks to is very disturbing indeed. It's not disturbing because of the enormous graduation gap that it points to between inner cities and suburbs. I think anyone with an ounce of brain cells knew this was happening all across the country. What really disgusts me is just how bad the problem has gotten, despite all the money and effort thrown at it. 

How can we expect to survive as a country (let alone remain competitive a global economy) when such a large percentage of our kids have a 50-50 shot at graduating from HIGH SCHOOL!?

I live in the District of Columbia, where our youthful new mayor Adrian Fenty has taken over the school system in the model of NYC and a few other cities. He appointed Michelle Rhee to come in an whip everyone in to shape, paying her a handsome $275K per year to get the job done plus a signing bonus and yearly bonuses that could push her compensation over $300K per years.  Want to know what does the highest paid teachers in DC make? $68,000 per year, with seniority and a masters degree.

So far, as might be expected, the reception to his actual implementation of a campaign promise has been mixed. I hope he steps up his game because I may have kids going to school here one day, but I am not optimistic.

I guess he deserves credit for trying, but all he really did was co-opt the ideas of the school superindendent that he fired and replaced with Rhee. When the first act of a new mayor is to throw the baby out with the bathwater, I am a little suspicious. Not only that, but the woman has never administered anything larger than a classroom in her entire life and that was in Baltimore, the city with one of the worst school districts in the country. What exactly did she learn in those three years of teaching that would be worth that kind of salary? Perhaps it was the time she spent starting the New Teacher Project - a worthy non-profit that does good work in urban schools, but hardly experience that would justify that kind of money.

DC is simply a microcosm of the school dilemma found around the country. Too much weight at the top taking resources away from teaching children and managing facilities.

The schools are also a reflection of our society at large - where CEOs earn more in ten minutes than most workers earn all year. When did this idea that top-down management was not only more effective than bottom-up efforts, but that the guy (or gal) at the top of the ladder somehow contribute 400 times more than the people at the bottom?

Is this nation terminally ill?  Should someone stick a thermometer up our collective anus and make sure we aren't running too high a fever to make the right decisions about vital issues? 

I think we better figure it out quick before we have a nation of high school drop-outs competing for what few McJobs are available to them while the rest of us do what we can to keep this ship afloat.

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Cross-posted at The Red Road.

By request, here is a repost of my earlier attempt:

With all the manufactured hoopla and controversy over Barack's statements to supporters at a San Francisco fund-raiser, it has been my contention that the truth will win out in the end, just like every other fake controversy stirred up by Hillary, McCain or the media during this campaign.

The American Voter is way smarter than the cynics give us credit for, an amazing fact given the deplorable state of education in this country.  Just goes to show that common sense and an ear for authenticity have nothing to do with the level of education you have achieved.  I have seen some startlingly stupid people with post graduate degrees this election season.  Just pick a channel and the notion that education equals wisdom will be quickly dispelled.

The only reason Barack Obama could be leading this race right now - given the enormous challenges he faced coming in with regards to his relative youth, his skin color and his lack of name recognition - is because Americans are finally waking up from the nightmare that started over forty years ago on a balcony in Memphis and has just gotten more ugly and more tragic ever since.

This is why Barack will be our next president. 

He is presidential and real at the same time. He commands attention, yet somehow asks for permission at the same time. We have not had a candidate like this in my entire time on this planet. I have been screaming at the TV for years, begging for someone to tell me the truth. Anyone. The only people who did tell the truth were immediately labeled as nuts and shoved off-stage.

I believe this, among all of his many attributes, is what accounts for Barack's successes to date.

The last two democrats to run had many of Barack's qualities as well. Smart and accomplished. Responsible for progressive legislative efforts at the state and federal levels. Well educated and seemingly committed to helping their fellow American.

But what both of them missed was the chance to tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth, despite the political consequences.  What both Gore and Kerry, whom I supported in 2004, missed was an opportunity to toss aside polls and speak from the heart.  They, like Hillary, relied on "democratic strategists" to trim their sails for the prevailing winds.

Both candidates failed to connect with any meaningful portion of the people who never vote (the youth in particular) or those independents and republicans who might be willing to look at the democrats again given the long history of neocon under-performance in government. Many Obamicans probably identify more with Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower than Ronald Reagan or Daddy & Baby Bush.

This is why I tell my fellow Obama supporters to take hope despite what the media and various prognosticators might say is the impact of this or that fake outrage.  I tell them to trust in the American voter this year, more so than in any year past, because Barack has found a way to cut through the white noise that keeps us all ignorant and uninformed about things that are actually happening to us every day. Don't worry that your hope and effort will once again end in disappoint.

As our candidate would say: "Not this time. Not this year."

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Cross-posted at http://myredroad.blogspot.com

None of the HTML worked in my last post, so please see a properly formatted post here: http://myredroad.blogspot.com. 

My apologies for the inconvenience, but I will respond to comments in either venue.

<p>With all the manufactured hoopla and controversy over Barack's statements to supporters at a San Francisco fund-raiser, it has been my contention that the truth will win, just like every other fake controversy stirred up by Hillary, McCain or the media during this campaign. </p><p>The American Voter is way smarter than the cynics give them credit for, an amazing fact given the deplorable state of education in this country. Just goes to show that common sense and an ear for authenticity have nothing to do with the level of education you have achieved. I have seen some startlingly stupid people with post graduate degrees this year. Just pick a channel and the notion that education equals wisdom will be quickly dispelled.</p><p>The only reason Barack Obama could be leading this race right now - given the enormous challenges he faced coming in with regards to his relative youth, his skin color and his lack of name recognition - is because Americans are finally waking up from the nightmare that started over forty years ago on a balcony in Memphis and has just gotten more ugly and more tragic ever since.</p><p>Here is Barack's most recent response to the chatter at an Associated Press luncheon here in Washington DC:</p><p><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jTavf76cPC0&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jTavf76cPC0&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></p><p>This is why Barack will be our next president. He is presidential and real at the same time. He commands attention, yet somehow asks for attention at the same time. We have not had a candidate like this in my entire time on this planet. I have been screaming at the TV for years, begging for someone to tell me the truth. Anyone. The only people who did tell the truth were immediately labeled as nuts and shoved off-stage.</p><p>I believe this, among all of his many attributes, is what accounts for Barack's successes to date. </p><p>The last two democrats to run had many of Barack's qualities as well. Smart and accomplished. Responsible for progressive legislative efforts at the state and federal levels. Well educated and seemingly committed to helping their fellow man. </p><p>But what both of them missed was the chance to tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth, despite the political consequences. What both Gore and Kerry, whom I supported in 2004, missed was an opportunity to toss aside polls and speak from the heart. They, like Hillary, relied on "democratic strategists" to trim their sails for the prevailing winds. </p><p>Both candidates failed to connect with any meaningful portion of the people who never vote (the youth in particular) or those independents and republicans who might be willing to look at the democrats again given the long history of neocon under-performance in government. Many Obamicans probably identify more with Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower than Ronald Reagan or Daddy &amp; Baby Bush.</p><p>This is why I tell my fellow Obama supporters to take hope despite what the media and various prognosticators might say is the impact of this or that fake outrage. I tell them to trust in the American voter this year, more so than in any year past, because Barack has found a way to cut through the white noise that keeps us all ignorant and uninformed about things that are actually happening to us every day. Don't worry that your hope and effort will once again end in disappoint. </p><p>As our candidate would say: "Not this time. Not this year."</p>

Cross-posted at: http://myredroad.blogspot.com.