According to a Boston Globe poll, the popularity of Mass. Gov Deval Patrick has plummeted.

Too bad. I think he’s been doing a good job in an economic and political environment within which success can only be measured by degrees of failure. (Those who worry about one-party control turning into a tyranny have never met Massachusetts Democrats.)

But, I was disappointed to receive an email this morning from Doug Rubin, of the Deval Patrick Committee, containing “talking points” for his supporters, with a form that lets us forward it to ten people. The msg begins:

Friends,

In light of today’s Globe Poll, we know that many of you will be receiving many questions about the Governor and the Commonwealth. Below are some talking points to help with those conversations. We ask that you use these in conversation and distribute them to your friends and family. I’m proud of what we have accomplished, feel confident talking about our work, and I hope you are as well.

Sincerely,
Doug Rubin

Jeez, I really don’t want to be recruited as a spin agent.

Governor Patrick, I know this has to be a sucky day for you. There are lots of us in the Commonwealth who think you’re the right person for the job and that you’re an exceptional person in near impossible circumstances. We want to help. Don’t spin us. Fall back on us. We’ll rise to catch you. Trust us.

One more thing: The email msg and the DevalPatrick.com site it comes from do not explain who Doug Rubin is (Google reports he’s the Governor’s Chief of Staff [NOTE later that day: Doug Rubin says in the comments that he was Patrick’s Chief of Staff but is now part of the Governor’s campaign team] or Deval Patrick’s relationship to the site, other than noting that it is not an official government site. How about a little more transparency than that?

[Tags: deval_patrick pr spin politics e-politics e-gov ]

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Obama has posted his tech policy.

It’s like someone who understands and values technology and the Internet was elected president.

By the way, the Change.gov site welcomes our comments.

[Tags: obama net_neutrality e-politics democracy technology ]

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I’m listening to Bob Kuttner on Fresh Air talk about the topic of his book, Obama’s Challenge. He’s saying that FDR led in part by seizing opportunities to teach us, including his very first fireside chat.

Interesting. We are certainly in a “teachable moment,” as they say. And we have a president-elect who is a learner and has actually been a teacher. I’m so ready to be taught. (Of course, I’m so ready for our new president to do everything that our current president can’t manage to do, including learn and lead.)

Here’s Peter Leyden’s talk in Copenhagen last month about how the Obama campaign used the Internet.

[Tags: obama leadership peter_leyden e-politics ]

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Click on an issue listed at Ask Obama Now and you’ll see a video clip of Obama addressing it, along with a build of bullet points on the side – useful if you’re not sure where he stands on the issues that matter to you.

[Tags: politics e-politics obama ]

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YouTube and PBS are asking us to video and post our voting experience. The videos will be collected here.

I was already planning on Flickring my absentee vote for Obama, just for the joy of it. [Tags: politics e-politics media youtube ]

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Zack Exley, who knows a thing or two about political organizing, writes about the Obama campaign’s use of top-down and lateral connectedness to get out the vote. And Patrick Ruffini, at The Next Right, is worried that Obama got it right. (Via Andrew Sullilvan)

[Tags: politics e-politics obama mccain ]

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Alec MacGillis at the Washington Post has a terrific, detailed look at Obama’s huge and innovative ground organization. It’s a fascinating mix of decentralization and centralized message control, and of face-to-face and Net-mediated communication.

[Tags: politics obama e-politics ]

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The tag line at the Canadian Conservative Party’s Web site, attacking the liberal candidate Stéphane Dion — as you know, the PM just called for an election — seems oddly 19th century:

“Canada cannot afford risky experiments at a time of uncertainty”

It’s as if Obama were to say, “My opponent’s steadiness of purpose is challenged by recent announcements seemingly at odds with this character,” or if McCain were to say, “To what end shall our nation proceed if driven by hands untested by trial?”

The Conservative site does feature “MyCampaign,” a “virtual campaign office,” that lets you write letters to editors, recruit friends, call talk radio, and engage in other acts of personal broadcasting. As far as I can see, there’s no actual social networking available.

The Liberal party site does some Ajax-y launch-on-hover things, and has a prominent link to Facebook where Dion has 12,000 supporters. The page was updated on Dec. 14, June 19, and Aug. 19. The Liberal’s YouTube page leads with a video of a slow clap for nature, posted two months ago.

The NDP’s Facebook page has 13,000 supporters and a campaign video uploaded yesterday, although the updates have been about monthly. And the NDP has been twittering. Well, to be exact, they’ve tweeted three times, but once was six minutes ago. They have 169 followers, but are following 151, creating an amazing following-to-follower relationship that they can only hope will not be sustainable in the long run.

(And, yes, although I’m being snarky about the Canadian Web sites’ campaign rhetoric, I do prefer it to America’s.) [Tags: politics canada e-democracy e-politics stephen_harper stephane_dion jack_layton tories liberals ndp ]

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