Barack hearts Tech 2.0

If you’ve been a member of this blog for more than a few months, you know that I’m passionate about technology. Perusing TechCrunch, that passion was mated with an aspiration I hope to see in 2008: Barack Obama in the white house.

While there is a lot of criticism of Barack (yeah, I like to call him by his first name because we’re that cool) of not being passionate enough when he needs to be, I have always admired the eloquence of how he outlines a lot of his policies. He does drift in and out of the politically correct pattern every now and then, but most of what he says is punctuated in his common-sense presentation. Never has that been more evident in his platform keys with technological future. He was recently out in Silicon Valley pumping these ideas and hopes to sway a few of the master nerds off the Ron Paul bandwagon.

Net Neutrality

A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices. They have a right to receive accurate and honest information about service plans. But these guarantees are not enough to prevent network providers from discriminating in ways that limit the freedom of expression on the Internet. Because most Americans only have a choice of only one or two broadband carriers, carriers are tempted to impose a toll charge on content and services, discriminating against websites that are unwilling to pay for equal treatment

Diversity

Barack Obama believes that the nation’s rules ensuring diversity of media ownership are critical to the public interest. Unfortunately, over the past several years, the Federal Communications Commission has promoted the concept of consolidation over diversity. Barack Obama believes that providing opportunities for minority-owned businesses to own radio and television stations is fundamental to creating the diverse media environment that federal law requires and the country deserves and demands.

Open Government

The Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive, closed administrations in American history. Our nation’s progress has been stifled by a system corrupted by millions of lobbying dollars contributed to political campaigns, the revolving door between government and industry, and privileged access to inside information—all of which have led to policies that favor the few against the public interest. An Obama presidency will use cutting-edge technologies to reverse this dynamic, creating a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America’s citizens. Technology-enabled citizen participation has already produced ideas driving Obama’s campaign and its vision for how technology can help connect government to its citizens and engage citizens in a democracy. Barack Obama will use the most current technological tools available to make government less beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists and promote citizen participation in government decision-making.

Broadband for Everyone

Barack Obama believes that America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access. As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access. Full broadband penetration can enrich democratic discourse, enhance competition, provide economic growth, and bring significant consumer benefits.

Electronic Health Care

A key feature of Barack Obama’s health care plan is the use of technology to lower the cost of health care. Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes them difficult to use to coordinate care, measure quality, or reduce medical errors. Processing paper claims also costs twice as much as processing electronic claims. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records.

This is truly exciting stuff. It is important to note, however, that a President does not institute policy. Our system of checks and balances means that Congress has to agree to get behind Barack. It can be said, however, that having a world leader come out and speak on the necessity of these issues puts pressure on Congress to get these initiatives passed. Even more, it inspires people to demand the change from their respective political leaders.

The rest of his platform can be found here and the TechCrunch article here.