Joe, Welcome to the Lake.

Cliff, Thank you for Hosting today’s Book Salon.

Great to be here — thanks for having me!

Thanks Bev and great to see you Joe! Perhaps you want to start out by telling the good folks here how you see what Obama accomplished as building upon some of the things you guys did so well in 2004?

Its been incredible to witness and be part of the empowerment of people to take back our democracy — the book is about the early days of a movement that in many ways started with the Dean Campaign and the revised edition looks at where the movement went in 2008 and the election of Obama.

Dugg right here!~

I really believe that the Dean campaign was like the Wright Brothers — we showed you could get a new kind of politics off the ground — but the Obama campaign was Apollo 11 — they actually launched and landed a candidate into the White House. The number of people and the tools on the net were so much more powerful than we had in 2004

And it does a fantastic job of not only chronicling your evolution in politics, but the use of technology. At one point you talk about Gary Hart’s “concentric circles”…Do you think the use of new technology has finally put that concept to work on an enormous scale?

Glad to see Joe here, and glad to see Cliff hosting — a lot of people think that Cliff’s aims and Joe’s (and Dean’s) are opposed, when they are not.

And I should say too that they learned from some of the things we were not able to do — like get people to work in targeted geographical areas — the tools were too primitive in 2004 to do this — the Obama campaign partly because he was a bottom up community organizer went to work to sole the problem right from the start.

The integration with what was going on in meatspace was much better, especially in Iowa. But the failure in 2003-4 was what paved the way for the success of 2008.

Well my only aim is to beat bad Repubicans. And Joe has accomplished that more than most. So I’d say we see eye to eye :)

Yes. That cannot be stated enough. People think that the net is a substitute for shoe leather and knowing your neighbors; in reality, both go together and you have to like people (and/or have a thick skin) to go out and knock doors and twist arms (gently or otherwise) day in and day out for years on end.

That last one from me should have been a reply to Phoenix Woman. My bad.

Yup. ;-)

Gary Hart’s concentric circle theory of organizing had a big impact on my thinking when I worked for Dean in 2004 — and it clearly reached maximum impact with the Obama campaign in 2008 — A theory that I first noticed in 1984! People question “losing campaigns” but what many do not understand is that it is often in the ashes of a losing campaign that the idea that leads to an important victory rises — Hart and the Deans campaigns have a lot to do with the evolution that led to the Obama victory

You speak about your Sicilian background in the book, as a fellow Sicilian, I wonder how your heritage affects you approach to American politics.

Cliff, welcome back! And welcome to Joe Trippi too. I haven’t read your book, but I wonder: do you make any predictions? What’s the next stage? As we sit in awe of what the Obama team accomplished, where will the next surprise come from? As you suggest, they built on what you and the Dean Team started. Will the next version of American campaigning also be evolutionary, or revolutionary?

Thanks for chatting today!

It doesn’t affect my approach at all – I learned a long time ago that I am not trying to get people elected to represent me — I am trying to get them elected to represent their district or their own ideas — my heritage has almost nothing to do with it. I am a strategist.

Thanks Teddy. Good to see you too!

I think the next surprise will come from us — from the people in meeting the current crisis. I doubt very much that the government (even one led by Obama) will be able to solve the current financial mess — I think it is far likelier that it will be communities helping each other, many of them online that will help most through what I expect to be very tough times.

HI Joe, Cliff.
Joe, any idea on where Howard Dean’s heading or where he’d do well? He was brilliant and courageous as DNC chair and I’d hate to see him pigeonholed in health care.

Hi Joe and Cliff
Welcome to the Lake.

What’s next for Howard btw.

Some of us felt he’s been pushed aside. Are we being too sensitive?

Joe,

How far behind are the Rs in this type of campaigning and are they doing anything to catch up, or even leap frog the Ds?

Do you have any idea which senator & rep candidates ran this type of campaign?

You don’t want republicans to read your book and steal these ideas now do you?

I haven’t read your book, does it talk about cyber bullying, how to respond to it, how to maintain discipline in the face of it? I am not talking about trolls; I consider cyber bullying to be in a different class.

I am not sure what will happen with Howard — he deserves more credit than he is getting for the resurgence of the party. But the fact is Obama won the Presidency — he gets to name his own DNC chair and his own officials in the administration. Howard’s courage and standing up to the party establishment in Washington (and I know this from personal experience) does not win you friends in the nation’s capital. I can’t see him retiring quietly to Vermont so I am sure we will see another chapter — I just have no idea what it might be.

It seems from down here on the ground that the goiod ideas of people can’t seem to permeate up into congress. They get republicanized on the way through the lobby to the chamber.

Hi, Joe. Any thoughts about where the strategies and tactics you developed will or should be applied to governance, and not just campaigning?

Hi,Joe.

My question is about how something I see the Obama people doing could really cast a cynical taint over the “two-way” nature of internet communication. I think it’s that sense of being heard that inspires regular people to participate in this way.

BUT

Recently the Obama people invited citizens to send in ideas about how to fix health care, and Tom Daschle supposedly responded to those ideas.

ONLY

it was obvious that the Obama people just picked out little quotes that supported their already-arrived-at decisions on how they are going to approach the health care crisis.

I won’t even get into the Warren pick for the inaugural address.

So my question: Will this fabulous Internet connectivity be killed when regular people realize we are just being used as props — and to squeeze money out of?

Howard Dean took the fall and Obi picked up pieces and ran with it. Let’s see what he actually does and if he MEANS what he says that its about the people.

How was Obama able to get away with wedding the resources of the netroots with the politics of the DLC?

Republicans are behind — but that is where Dean was — in other words they didn’t need to be good at this (in their view) until now — now they are the outsiders and will be forced to get better at this or die — Clinton didn’t think she needed it either — but once she realized the power she learned pretty quickly and started to win — so I would not count the GOP out — they will focus on the Internet/SMS technology and begin the process of catching up.

And what did you expect Obama to do with the “suggestions?” I figured it was a cynical ploy right from the getgo.

Do you feel exploited and that we were sold a bill of goods? That the people made this happen and he’s a trojan horse who road in on our ground work?

Congratulations on this Joe. In a world where “genius” and “must read” are thrown around like toilet paper ata Halloween fat party, you deserve being called the first, and this book really is the second. If people want to know what happened from someone who wasn’t just there but was a driving force, this is the book to buy, and give to your friends.

eCAHNomics & SanderO — you’re way ahead of me, boys!

tee hee

Wow, Hillary didn’t think she needed the internet as an important tool in her campaign? Color me amazed at the blindness of it.

David — Hey great to see you hear! I think we are about to see the first “Connected” presidency. JFK was the first Television president — Obama will be first “connected” president — and congress is going to be the big loser in all this — because I think we are going to see a President directly connected to more Americans than any other President in history — and when 25 members of Congress are standing in the way of health care reform — they are going to find themselves standing between Barack and a hard place — between the President and millions of Americans organizing to pass his agenda. On the other hand the Obama administration is the Wright Brothers now — no one has ever done this before and there is a lot they could get wrong — being too careful and listening too much to the Washington establishment.

Stirling — thanks for those kind words! It means a lot to me coming from you!

…being too careful and listening too much to the Washington establishment.

Aye, there’s the rub.

Clinton did not really realize the true power of the Internet until Feb 2008 — by then it was too late — Obama had already locked in an advantage that was relatively speaking –

Why don’t congress critters with the “youthful” staffs “get” the internet?

Why have web sites like FDL been dismissed and pajama clad slackers in the dad’s basement for as long as they have? Only now are we seeing Jane and Glenn G etc on the tele.

Aloha, Joe! Welcome to the Lake…! Mahalo, Cliff for hosting!

One of my biggest gripes of late has been the CW that Rahmbo was most responsible for the tsunami of Dems, and, Dean being relegated to the sidelines, in essence, we swept them in, in spite of Rahmbo, not because of his ministrations as DCCC chair…! :-(

the Obama administration is the Wright Brothers now — no one has ever done this before and there is a lot they could get wrong — being too careful and listening too much to the Washington establishment.

Obama’s Administration is the Washington Establishment so that’s one horse already out the barndoor.

Joe, it can’t be just realizing the “power of the internet” in such a way that when one gets it the playing field is leveled. If so I expect all candidates to make this calculus and hire them up some net geeks pronto.

Karl Rove has suggested, in his WSJ column, that there may be some regulations that prevent Obama from using the email list he developed as a candidate, to pursue legislature and things like that. Any thoughts? Could the GOP block OBama’s use of the list or the whole approach of using the web as part of his tools for governing?

I think this whole thing is happening backwards for technology that empowers the bottom-up. Dean was a national campaign and then came Obama — most of the populating of these tools have happened because of national campaigns — now there are enough people in congressional districts that have become active because of a national campaign that they will make a difference in a Congressional race (locally) or Mayor’s race — so I think by 2010 EVERYONE will GET IT. And every campaign at every level will understand the power of a blog, or Twitter, or Facebook page etc.

So does this all mean that we can move toward a “direct democracy” and get rid of slacker congress critters who do what they want … I mean what their donors want.

And I should ask can’t this connectivity backfire and become a conduit of blowback directly to Obama when or if he doesn’t deliver what voters expected of him with regard to the economy and Iraq?

In other words… will the constitution bend to the internet? It should… shouldn’t it?

All true — but as has been true through the ages — history is written by the winners and they seldom credit those who came before them or who blazed the trail. Howard deserves more credit — so do the hundreds of thousand who stood up in that campaign for him and kept fighting into 2006 and 2008 and gave the party its energy. But none of them are chief of staff to the next President. Oh shit now I won’t get a WH invite. Can this response be off the record :)

Hugh, what seems to be essential is the “person” to lead the netroots. The net by itself is too diverse to apply direct pressure. That’s the same as polls or demonstrations. Do polls respond to that sort of pressure? Not as much as when there is a MLK at the front of the masses.

No hiring up a bunch of geeks won’t matter if you don’t have a message and don’t say anything. That’s right

You are so correct. That’s ego at work and people don’t realize that they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.

Obi couldn’t even mention MLK by name… that was pretty pathetic or call it disgusting take your pick.

Isn’t it happening already, Hugh? Look at how the MSM is already covering how Teh Left is reacting to some of his nominees on the Toobz…! ;-)

HI–what do you see as the next front for representative democracy. I’m looking at INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING. you agree??

Frankly I thought you and Dr Dean were terribly visionary and principled – and thus, people to be ignored by the present winners.

The 13 million people who signed up for his campaign will sign up at Change.gov
and millions of Americans will sign up to help their President. There will be no legal hurdles. When JFK said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask instead what you can do for your country” How many Americans would have joined him at that moment if the technology we have today was available then? How many? We will never know — but we may be about to find out. Americans, Democratic, Republican and Independent want their President to succeed — they will sign up in the millions to help him pass his agenda.

That would be the cat’s meow.

Toss in public finance and no private money spent on political campaigns and we might call it a baby step forward for mankind and a giant leap for democracy.

No but it does mean that Obama has a real chance to make his presidency stronger than any other to get his agenda passed.

If he doesn’t succeed we are all in hell. This is a rather play for keeps presidency.

Remember when W waltzed in with all that money in the treasury to give back to rich folks.

Isn’t it happening already, Hugh? Look at how the MSM is already covering how Teh Left is reacting to some of his nominees on the Toobz…! ;-)

Yes, some coverage but two things. It did not push Obama to make better picks for his Administration to start with. And with the possible iffy exception of Brennan, it has not caused Obama to change any of his proposed selections. Obama promised change and what we are seeing is more of the same with the return of an Administration full of Establishment politicos and Clintonistas.

I like instant run-off voting — which almost guarantees its a ways off.

Joe, it’s been great to see you on the television machine (as Rachel Maddow calls it). What’s next on your career horizon? They refer to you as a Democratic strategist.

First, as someone who’d refused to enable the feckless Dems and given up on trying to get more decent Republicans in office, I’m among those that Howard Dean brought back into political activity.

I don’t see the GOP authoritarians having the temperament to do a good job of online activism, and so far they haven’t.

What role do you see social psychology playing into how/what the GOP will do in the future?

(And I pose the question while sharing the very concerns mentioned by LindaR, in terms of exploiting people and their time/energy.)

because I think we are going to see a President directly connected to more Americans than any other President in history — and when 25 members of Congress are standing in the way of health care reform — they are going to find themselves standing between Barack and a hard place — between the President and millions of Americans organizing to pass his agenda.

millions of Americans organizing to pass Obama’s agenda – but not their own. that’s what i find so very sad, that top down organizing is being sold as “grass roots.” it’s really about selling, advertising and marketing and not about organizing and empowerment. the biggest example of this is how people are being conned into supporting Obama’s pro-corporate health care plan instead of some kind of single payer plan.

AMEN!!!!!!!!

sounds good to me

Americans, Democratic, Republican and Independent want their President to succeed — they will sign up in the millions to help him pass his agenda.

The problem is his agenda is looking less and less like their agenda. If Obama doesn’t deliver on what Americans want in these trying times, there is going to be an awful train wreck up ahead.

He waltzed in? ;-)

Ummm. How about Obama can use his email lists until K-k-k-karl finds his 5,000,000 ‘missing’ emails, eh?

;-))

Joe, it can’t be just realizing the “power of the internet” in such a way that when one gets it the playing field is leveled. If so I expect all candidates to make this calculus and hire them up some net geeks pronto.

that assumes that we preserve net neutrality. Also, the Google and Google News Alerts refrain from censorship.

You could have 10 of the smartest people in the world advising you on how to solve this mess — and they could all be wrong. Certainly having people who will resort to the same answers will not work. The issue here is not the focus of who he picked — it is Barack Obama himself — he can be the bold change and rally people to the cause and have smart experienced people in the cabinet to carry out his bold plans — FDR’s cabinet was made up of the likely suspects too — but FDR was able to lead the country to boldly meet the crisis and succeed — Obama has those qualities and they may be far more important that who he picks.

Hey Joe,

I was kind of wondering…With your tough critique of the effect of television on politics, has it ever caused any uncomfortable moments for you at CBS (and btw if this is one of those things better not discussed, just ignore–as I remember learning from Guido “the Killer Pimp” in Risky Business, “never f*&k with a man’s livelihood”)…..

thanks to you for coming, joe.

in the early 80’s you used a dec computer for campaign lists, supposedly the first. what would you say was your ‘cutting edge’ item of this election campaign?

===
this conflicting-sounding segment of your wiki brings on a myriad of questions to me.

what is it like being a fellow at a foundation founded by dean’s rival?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Trippi
would you call yourself a ‘centrist’?

Joe Trippi is also a fellow at the New Politics Institute [4], a think tank of the New Democrat Network [5][6], founded by Simon Rosenberg in 1996. The NDN’s stated purpose is to help elect “centrist” Democrats, and is considered by many to be a successor to the centrist Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), an organization that Simon Rosenberg resigned from in 1996. (Rosenberg was one of Howard Dean’s rivals for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee in 20

05.)

=====
here’s joe’s blog/website, pups.
http://joetrippi.com/
and a twitter link.

hey joe–please consider adding firedoglake.com to your ‘blogroll’. when there is breaking news, this is the place i go to first–posts and the comments section

Teddy I don’t know — I have been trying to help rid the world of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe (doing what I can to get people to notice the mess there). I am tired of dodging the party establishment — I don’t have the cover of being DNC chair so a lot of them took out their angst about Dean on me. I need to get three kids through college though so I will keep trying to make a difference and a living at the same time I guess!

I agree — but I don’t want to think that is where we are headed. I am willing to give him as much support as he wants. That may change but not yet

Joe, I have proposed that he may get these picks to do something very different and the congress and the people need to hear from the “establishment” or else they thing it’s some weird ass pinko commie ideas from the likes of Bill Ayers.

Let’s see what they actually do with this cabinet, but they are not listening to the netroots any more.

So you see the glass as half full, eh? ;-)

I see it as a mixed bag… Holder, Vilsack, Rahmbo, LaHood, and Jackson are some dubious choices… Then again, Solis, amongst a few others are rather inspired picks…

Will move on be at the table are are they still an outside agitator lefty group?

You could have 10 of the smartest people in the world advising you on how to solve this mess — and they could all be wrong. Certainly having people who will resort to the same answers will not work. The issue here is not the focus of who he picked — it is Barack Obama himself — he can be the bold change and rally people to the cause and have smart experienced people in the cabinet to carry out his bold plans — FDR’s cabinet was made up of the likely suspects too — but FDR was able to lead the country to boldly meet the crisis and succeed — Obama has those qualities and they may be far more important that who he picks.

First, he doesn’t have the smartest people. He has people like Summers and Geithner who helped create the financial meltdown.

Second, are you asking us to believe that Obama filled his Administration with people he fundamentally disagreed with?

Third, what is this cult of the maximal leader? This is as profoundly anti-democratic as it is anti-progressive.

Hey Joe — As an old Kennedy hand, can you support Caroline for Senate knowing that she failed to vote in elections in 1989, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2002 and 2005?

Hugh, do you think just maybe Obama has called these slackers in and said.

Look guys, I know what you did and actually it’s criminal. Now you guys got us into this hell hole and I am gonna give you guys the chance to get this right. If you don’t you are on the street and maybe in the defendant’s chair. I got a lotta lawsuits I am holding back because I said I would get you guys to clean up the mess you created. Now do it and don’t be insubordinate.

Man a bunch of stuff in these questions. Cutting edge in this campaign — no question was Youtube and user generated media. It did not exist in 2004. Wil.I.am could not have happened in 2004 and the millions who watched his video and were inspired by it could not have happened.

On Simon Rosenberg. You know people have different skills — Simon really is a visionary on the intersection of progressive politics and the Internet — from the Dean campaign days — he was one of the few institutional people in the party that “got it” He has had a lot to do with driving the party away from broadcast TV as the only means to communicate — probably deserves more credit than anyone for the insights and strategies that helped Democrats win hispanic voters and has promoted the progressive blogosphere.

Dean did a great job as Chairman — Simon went on and did a lot of good for the progressive movement. thats all

You could have 10 of the smartest people in the world advising you on how to solve this mess — and they could all be wrong. Certainly having people who will resort to the same answers will not work. The issue here is not the focus of who he picked — it is Barack Obama himself — he can be the bold change and rally people to the cause and have smart experienced people in the cabinet to carry out his bold plans — FDR’s cabinet was made up of the likely suspects too — but FDR was able to lead the country to boldly meet the crisis and succeed — Obama has those qualities and they may be far more important that who he picks.

i have no idea what you are saying here.

you seem to be saying that having smart people doesn’t matter, because smart people can be wrong. but then you say that having people who will resort to the same answers will not work – but isn’t that who obama has frequently chosen? (i’m thinking in particular about his economic team, but probably the same could be said about foreign policy).

obama “can be the bold change” ?! well, that’s how he’s sold himself but if there is any substance let alone boldness to the “change” rhetoric, i haven’t seen it.

what qualities exactly are you saying obama has in common with FDR and why do you think they are what is needed for the current crises?

No i am saying I want him to succeed — I am well aware of who he picked — but I want him to succeed — I am saying FDR picked the usual suspects too — it does not mean a President won’t do bold change. And somewhere up thread I said that I did not think the administration would be able to fix this — that it was more likely that millions of Americans connected with each other would be the ones to figure out or do the hard work of finding a way out of the mess our leaders got us into. I am not a big follow the leader guy — I am saying that I intend to give him the benefit of the doubt until he at least takes office.

Really good to hear, because something about the way that Dem convention came together sure felt like more than one visionary was behind it.

Completely agree with your points about the fact that technology is inert; it takes talent to use it wisely. As Will.I.Am surely did.

Good luck with those 3 college educations (!) From reading comments at FDL and EW, plenty here ‘get’ how hard that is to pull off these days.

thanks, that covered a lot of ground.

Hi Joe, thanks for coming to the Lake! Although the revolution may not be televised on broadband, it may be chronicled via online web video.

Where do you see the future of online video, and how important is it for news blogs to continue to work to undermine the influence of cable news in particular in forming conventional wisdom?

How about when the inside guys economic plans don’t do anything they are bannished from the table and the progressives get a shot?

Wil.I.am

the first time I saw that back in the beginning of February I knew it was gonna go.

I think Obama chose a Cabinet that reflects exactly who he is and what he thinks. The FISA Amendments Act and the $700 billion bailout both of which he was instrumental in getting passed were not flukes. Obama is being very clear about what he represents and he is showing a considerable discrepancy between that and his campaign rhetoric. I think this raises lots of questions about how successful he will be in his policies and his Presidency. I’m not seeing much to give me hope that he will do what needs to be done. So far his main plan for the economy looks like an insufficiently large stimulus and not much else.

I am not saying he is FDR — What he does have in common with FDR is that the people want him to succeed. They want change — they are prepared for change — FDR and his cabinet eventually got there — so too can Obama — not saying he will — but saying it can happen — and I hope it happens or the shit I think we are in is going to be much deeper than anyone knows.

If you are right — we are in for years of economic pain.

oh, thanks for your answer-but-specifically i meant what cutting edge tool did YOU use/implement this election cycle-similar to the way using the ‘dec computer’ to keep lists changed campaigns in the 80’s.

I am saying that I intend to give him the benefit of the doubt until he at least takes office.

I was trying to feel that way but once he chose Rick Warren for the Inauguration I lost hope. And I didn’t realize he’d fought against Prop 8. My gut rejection was just based on Warren’s obvious cash-money phony gospel.

I think mobile video and messaging is going to be the change that fuels the next big leap politically. 4 or 8 years from now we will be talking about some mobile leap we can not even think about today — remember You Tube didn’t exist in 2004.

How do we know what this guys thinks? He seems to very political and that’s not change we can believe in. He just seemed have tapped into the need that was there to “throw the bums out” which is why Hill didn’t fare well. She was perceived (rightly) as a beltway insider.

And the MSM wouldn’t let Denis or any progressive get face time.

I hope it happens or the shit I think we are in is going to be much deeper than anyone knows.

The Warren controversy has been, perhaps, overexposed but I believe that Obama’s use of this man demonstrates his true nature. Warren is a bigot supported by Obama. I no longer trust Obama. He is smart and cagey. We need smart and moral.

When you make one group happy you piss off another don’t you?

Probably the thing that had the most impact was the “Politics of Parsing” YouTube Video for John Edwards — at the time it really was devastating to the Clinton campaign and helped frame her as a status-quo politician. YouTube was far more powerful than people realize in framing this election and the outcome

mary, you nailed it. Ethics is key here. You don’t support biggots or racists no matter how many voters they represent. If he had the man repudiate his previous positions and then speak, fine. But I have to go with:

I shall know you by the friends you keep.

How about when the inside guys economic plans don’t do anything they are bannished from the table and the progressives get a shot?

This is what I don’t get. Why not do it right the first time? I disagree that no one knows what needs to be done. We have discussed at length here and I have written about what the problems are and how they can be addressed. These are not intractable problems. They have reasonable solutions. The core problem is that both Bush and Obama back the very Wall Street interests and players who created deregulation, the housing bubble, and the financial meltdown. In fact, these are the very same people they tell us will fix it all even as the crisis deepens.

What he does have in common with FDR is that the people want him to succeed.

i agree with this. but it’s not about who obama is, it’s about us. i want obama to succeed too – because if he doesn’t i think we are in for a very, very bad time (economically and otherwise). that’s why i get so concerned with the “bold” and “change” rhetoric when i am seeing neither.

the last eight years have taught me a lot. one of the big lessons is that while perceptions matter, they don’t actually create their own reality.

reality is catching up with us and i don’t see how calling obama “bold change” does anything other than obscure that reality (unless you really believe that obama is “bold change” in which case i’d love to know why you think that).

I hope some of you will take the time to read the book — I added 15,000 words to the revised edition to talk about 2008 and where we go from here. I really want to thank Cliff and Firedoglake for hosting this and thank all of you for the rapic fire questions. But my time is up — my twitter account is joetrippi if you have more questions. Or you can stop my my blog at Joetrippi.com

This is my feeling, too.

I’m very sad about it, but there it is.

Thank you for coming and answering questions. We all are pulling for Obama but with the crew that he has chosen, I just don’t see real change happening.

Maybe the reason is as simple as wall street own the government so you do what they want done or else. Scary eh?

Joe you are a great american. Thanks!

Joe, Thank you for stopping by the Lake today and discussing your book.

Cliff, Thank you for hosting – and would you like to stay the remaining time and answer questions?

and this one
american prayer–dave stewart and friends-co-written with bono
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVi4rUzf-0Q

Mahalo, Joe, for taking the time to be here at the Lake! Thank you for all your efforts, too…! ;-)

No i agree with your assessment — what I am saying is often the time make the leader — I am still hopeful that that is the case with Obama — Largely for the same reasons you hope he succeeds — because if this guy is the same old same old we are as you say “in for a very very bad time”

Its not clear to me that what you say about Obama would not have been said about FDR and his cabinet — yet bold change happened — hopefully a team that was smart enough to polls those words and repeat them over and over again — will realize they need to deliver. You may be right — it may not be in his DNA. But at this point he is who we have for the next four years — I will wait till he is in office and puts out his 100 day agenda before I pass judgment.

Thanks all and happy holidays!

thank you for your time here. hope you are right about the change we will see.

Thank you, Joe — very well done keeping up with our rapid-fire.

i will, thanks for taking the time to talk with us on book salon, joe!

Thanks so much Joe! A lot of great discussion and debate and let me say again: Buy the book everyone! It is excellent and you won’t be able to put it down.

And thanks for having me here Bev! And as always, thanks to the FDL community. Great being back here once again!!

Come by and visit at therealmccainbook.com, as soon that site will be turned into an all purpose say hello/curse me out locale, or find me on Facebook and say hi.

Cheers,

Cliff

Oh just saw what you wrote Bev, happy to stay here

As we come to the end of this Book Salon,

Joe, Thank you very much stopping by the Lake and spending the afternoon
with us discussing your new book.

Cliff, Thank you for Hosting this great Book Salon.

Everyone, if you haven’t bought this great book yet, there is a link above.

Thanks all.

In part it is the influence of money, but it is also a function of the revolving door. To a large extent, Wall Street and their supporters make up most of our financial and economic people in government.

So if anyone has any questions for me, or gratuitous insults, shoot!

MODERATOR–

please delete my link and comment at 124 asap.

thanks

…gratuitous insults…

Us? ;-)

So what is Obama going to do about the weather? It’s been 1 F here most of the afternoon and very windy. Should I blame him or Clinton?

al gore. where is global warming when you want it?

I know, never you guys…I jest, because I am…

phew, i was havin’ a panic.

thanks

Hello, Cliff
We’ve been trying various ways to get our voice into the political discussion; calls, email and fax swarms, raising money for newspaper ads, etc – what do you see as an effective way for us to organize and get things moving our way?

Hugh, I’ve never seen your sense of humor come across so wonderfully before. *g*

al gore. where is global warming when you want it?

Of course, why didn’t I think of that? *g*

Now that’s a great Q.

thanks, eCHAN, i suddenly thought it was stupid, what with all the talk of technology, etc.

I thought we were all very well behaved. Not a single shoe thrown for example.

Hi Kathryn,

Organizing so many voices speak as one on issues so important to us is key. I think everything you mentioned is important. In the progressive public relations work I do, I find that coordination is the key. So if you can coordinate a fax swarm with a lot of calls to legislators, email lists of likeminded orgs, newspaper ads, those are all great.

There is even a newish service out there called saysme.tv, which allows you to make your own ads and buy in certain cable markets a la carte. Make a web vid and not only get it out on blogs and lists as well as you can, but put it on tv in DC one other market where you want to influence someone, and follow up by sending it to print and broadcast media there. There are a lot of ways to do it, and the more the merrier I think.

terrific! more tools! keep us informed of such, thanks!

thanks also to cliff… lots of things to think about.

CTBob was good at this. During the Lamont run.

Just because you know a technology exists, does not mean you know how to use it effectively.

My favorite form of knowledge is having someone tell me something obvious that I never thought of before. Because it’s obvious, it will be in my knowledge bank for the rest of my life, but you can’t think of every obvious thing, so it is very useful to benefit from the obvious things that other people have noticed.

Speaking of local markets – the Kiss Float will be classic.

is

couldn’t. mine are on back order. just you wait. *g*

My pleasure! Thanks again guys. Now there is a 2-year old here who needs a bath. I am off. It has been a pleasure!