Power to the People???

The election's over, thank God, and now the hard part starts: governing. So what's next? Who knows?

But I think the Internet and the huge database built by the Obama campaign are going to be key tools in his presidency. If he could mobilize people to send in $5, $10, and $25 donations, how much easier to urge them to contact their legislator on whatever the issue at hand is. (And I'm sure he'll provide them the link to said legislator.)

That database isn't going anywhere. And it won't be gathering mothballs.

His strategic use of technology was key to his campaign. Through it, he built a coalition at a grassroots level, getting ordinary folks involved in a way they hadn't been before. His messaging was disciplined and his tone was (nearly) note-perfect.

Exhibit A: Hillary blew off the caucus states, while Obama quietly mobilized gazillions of people to show up and vote. She stuck to the traditional political playbook. He did not. He won.

Just as the then-immature medium of television made the difference for John Kennedy in 1960, the still-evolving Internet made the diff for Barack Obama.

It'll be interesting to see how he uses the Web to try to fix all that's broken...

Welcome to the 21st century!