“Respect. Empower. Include.”
These words were the motto for Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign. These words are powerful in that it this campaign provided the first opportunity for the average American citizen to play an active role in our political process. Obama’s campaign has revamped our political process and elevated the public’s expectations. Campaigns will no longer be run by a few Washington elites but, rather Americans will demand more opportunities for involvement and leadership.
After working and volunteering for several campaigns I was incredibly impressed with the amount of time and resources put into Obama’s volunteer corp. The weekly volunteer camps and training seminars not only educated volunteers it also empowered them. The combination of education and empowerment put volunteers on the ground that were well equipped and effective. By creating an environment where “volunteer leadership” was expected and encouraged, it mobilized many groups who were not previously involved in the political process. The most notably of these groups was American youth.
The potential of the youth movement had not been tapped in to by previous campaigns. Obama used various internet tools to create a youth community that proved to be not only passionate but effective. By using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, along with creative viral videos (Celebrity Yes, We Can and Obama Girl) and MyBarackObama.com, the campaign was able to tap into youth by speaking their language. It was able to turn an otherwise “typical” presidential campaign into something that was hip and cool for youth to get involved.
So what does this mean for future campaigns? Can Obama keep people energized and motivated? The massive community Obama has created must be nurtured as Zach Exley stated in his Huffington Post article “The New Organizers: What’s really behind Obama’s Ground Game”, “ Obama must continue to feed and lead the organization they have built-either as President or as opposition”. It may be too early to tell how effectively Obama is connecting with his community now that he is in the White House but, one thing is for sure, politics will never be the same.
Thank you President Obama!
