Fail!

No, this is not a post about Rush Limbaugh wanting President Obama to fail. This is my inner nerd coming out (take that as a fair warning).

Tonight, we, the Fordham College Democrats are hosting Ari Melber of The Nation magazine and he will discuss the role of New Media in the new administration. Researching the White House Office of New Media, just a little while ago, I learned that the White House has added a blog. At exactly noon (and four minutes before Barack Obama took the Oath of Office, I may add), the entire site changed from listing President George W. Bush to President Barack Obama (along with a complete redesign). The first post on the blog, which was posted at the same time the new website went live, the first blog post was also written, authored by White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips.

Looking at the blog, I saw that they posted a link to the corresponding RSS feed. Looking at the code of the feed, I saw that it was not an RSS feed, but, instead, an Atom feed. Simply put, feeds are web pages that can be subscribed to like a email newsletter, without sending an email. The difference between RSS and Atom feeds is the coding behind them. RSS allows for people to create custom frameworks, but must stay within certain parameters (like putting HTML in the pages). However, Atom feeds are meant to be more like HTML web pages with the modularity that comes with them. People prefer RSS feeds because they have been around longer, allow for more customization, and is the programming choice for podcasting. The RSS/Atom format war is not a big problem since systems like Feedburner allow for converting one type of feed into another.

Well, I emailed the White House about it (no joke, I really emailed the White House about how they got the feed type's name wrong) and who I would contact about a job or internship in the White House Office of New Media (assuming that is the name). I will see how it comes out. What can I say? New media is my thing (hence, my title).

Getting back to the White House and new media, Obama's campaign and presidency thus far has been shaped by new media. As we have all heard, Obama loves his Blackberry. He goes on Facebook, Twitter, (and I assume), YouTube, and other social networking and web 2.0 -user-generated web content (like this blog)- sites. Guess who also goes on those sites? Young people (us). By appealing to the people where they roam, of course you will influence them and get them to vote for you. People no longer want phone calls, they want Facebook messages. New media is here to stay and the Obama Administration knows it, they have a Facebook, they have a Twitter, they have a YouTube, they have a blog. (Wait, come to think of it, we have all of that stuff as well.) They know that to get the message out, you need to be where your constituents are; in this case, in front of a screen.

These sites have sparked debates over privacy issues, but what is there to really be afraid of? Like with how President Obama has always shown himself, we should be what is referred to for nerds as a WYSIWYG (pronounced "wizzy wig") -What You See Is What You Get. By showing our true selves, not just in politics, but in business, and relationships, we can get better results. You say to your boss "we should have a company outing to boost employee morale," the boss will likely do it; but if enough people suggest it, chances are, the boss will do it. The problem is that we all hide behind a veil (or, in this case, a screen -not to say, necessarily, that it is a bad thing) and say it to everyone but the boss. The boss finds out and thinks you are insulting his leadership and fires you. Now, this may be a simplistic example, but look at the deeper meaning. The boss has should realize that this is who he has as employees, he chose them and they do the work. If he does not cater to him in some way, work will not be done.

In the same way, President Obama realizes that he needs the average American to work with him. Whether it be writing to one's senators and congressman, or signing up for a new program, or even to just pray for him. But to do that, he must 1) earn the person's trust and 2) listen to what the person wants in order to cater to him or her. By going on his Twitter every night (as he does) or his Facebook, or what have you, President Obama can see what the issue of the moment is to you and I.

New media has not reduced the level of personal contact, but widened it. The only difference between talking to someone face-to-face and sending him or her a text message is the level of intimacy (which can be a make or break for some interpersonal relationships, but that is a whole other issue entirely).

Stimulate My Mind

At CPAC last weekend, there was a universal hatred of President Obama's bailout/economic-stimulus plans, sparked by comments by Rush Limbaugh. They all fear that the nation will become socialist. Do they realize how wrong they are?

1. This is a temporary program. It is not meant to last
2. Technically speaking, the government has always been socialist - Congress cannot pass laws that benefit only one person, laws are meant to help the most amount of people.
3. Do they really think that the government wants to take over the banks? The only group that can do less with repossessed houses than the banks is the government.
4. We must do something. Iceland has gone down the tubes, do you want the same to happen to the United States. At least Obama is trying to do something. When Obama was coming up with the stimulus plan, he did ask for Republican input. A certain College Republican that shall go unnamed says that those Republicans are, in fact, RINOs. At least, they are doing something than just sitting back and watching the nation itself fail.
   
5. After this economic situation, what will the Rush complain about next? Gays in the military? FOCA? He doesn't seem to be complaining much about that right now.

Rush also believes that Obama's plans will end individual liberties. How many individual liberties were taken by President Bush (*cough* 4^th Amendment *cough*)? That is what I thought.

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While writing this post, I have been watching ABC's World News Tonight. They discussed this very issue. Yesterday, both Republican Chairman Michael Steel and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (VA) have distanced themselves from Limbaugh. Rush, today, attacked them saying that they cannot say that they represent the Republican party if they do not share his ideals. Is he serious (or just back on his pain medications so he can go golfing)? Just as this blog (nor I) does not represent the views of the Democratic Party, I doubt that Rush Limbaugh represents the GOP. I would like Mr. Limbaugh to find another person in the United States that agrees with EVERY SINGLE ISSUE as him. The United States (nor any political party) represents the views of every member, but is a plurality of a set of common ideals.

I pray that all of these lovers of partisanship will learn that nothing works with partisanship, but coming together on issues that we do agree on.

Limbaugh Calling for Obama Failure at CPAC Keynote Speech

At the conclusion of this year's CPAC, (which was attended by Fordham's own College Republicans) Rush Limbaugh once again called for Obama's failure in the White House. Devastated after the November elections and bankrupt of new ideas, Republicans are turning towards Rush as the "intellectual force and energy" behind the party. Yet with Rush at the helm, the Republican Party would only be driven down towards minority-fringe status--oblivious to the rest of the country and devoid of any real political power.

Limbaugh and his fellow right-wingers fail to realize that 80% of the country is behind Obama's economic plans. The American people are looking for government assistance in this economic crisis, and, with Republicans offering nothing but opposition, Obama offers a convincing plan to get the country back on track after eight years of mismanagement.

Although Limbaugh's speech carried on an hour longer than expected and was met with repeated standing ovations, Rush continues to unnerve the few levelheaded Republicans that actually have America's interests at heart. Republican Whip Eric Cantor admits that "I don't think that anyone wants anything to fail right now," but with Santorum, Delay, and Malkin all calling for Obama's failure, it's pretty obvious that Rush's Republican Party is not thinking about the American People: it's just intent on revenge.

I think that after eight years of failure, we could all use a little success.

Click the title for the link.