At Harvard, Obama Staff Envision Their Movement’s Future

Cambridge, MA – Two top organizers behind Barack Obama's campaign huddled with political techies on Wednesday, discussing the future of the Obama movement at a Harvard summit on web politics.

Marshall Ganz, a veteran labor organizer who advised the campaign from his perch at Harvard, emphasized that the transition team needs more time to study how Obama's supporter movement can move beyond campaign mode. Ganz had previously called on Obama's aides to create more "public space" to transparently debate these issues, but he struck a different note today. "I think I was impatient," he said, "the process of learning that's going on is very important."

Jeremy Bird, who ran the campaign's field programs in several states, outlined three big planks in that process, ranging in scale and transparency. First, aides are already reviewing half a million responses to an extensive survey that was emailed to every Obama supporter after the election. Second, several hundred field organized gathered in Chicago last weekend for a private debates. Finally, in what may be the largest post-election campaign gathering besides inaugurals, tens of thousands of supporters are gathering in coordinated house parties across the country next week. (Meanwhile, today the transition team launched a new feature, "Open for Questions," encouraging citizens to post governance questions on Change.gov.)

There are other Obama campaign staff attending the two-day summit, sponsored by Google and eBay, including New Media Director Joe Rospars, blogger Sam Graham-Felsen and the social networking specialist Chris Hughes, along with Internet luminaries like Yochai Benkler, Jonathan Zittrain, Ethan Zuckerman, Jay Rosen, Steve Grove and Dan Gillmor.

Ganz and Bird spoke in a public presentation that will be posted online – live blog available here – but most of the sessions are private, to allow more blunt exchanges between the practitioners, scholars and writers gathered here. (I'll be reporting more on the public sessions, including a session I'm doing Thursday with Joe Trippi, both here and for a January article in the magazine.) This week, Harvard is also hosting public debates over the summit's "working hypothesis" on their Publius Platform. There are several responses already posted -- former Clinton Internet Director Peter Daou explores the explosion of online commentary beyond blogs; Professor Dana Fisher tracks bottom-up mobilization; and I try to answer why campaign volunteering rates declined from 2004 to 2008.

Obama campaign aide Jeremy Bird works the bullhorn. (Credit: Obama Flickr.)

Comments (8)

1. >>>Meanwhile, today the transition team launched a new feature, "Open for Questions," encouraging citizens to post governance questions on Change.gov.<<<

   The Change.gov website is being used as a vehicle to solicit opinion on a wide range of policy issues from the public.

   I would encourage anyone here - including the conservatives - to go there and submit comments, as these comments are actually being reviewed by Obama's transition team.

   Posted by Metteyya at 12/10/2008 @ 3:36pm

2. This is all a joke. Obama has made it abundantly clear with his appointments who he's going to listen to, and it isn't "the movement," which isn't and never was a social movement anyway. The connection between Change.org and the continuing monetary solicitations from the campaign-morphed-into-DNC is painfully transparent.

   The Nation should not collaborate in this hoax.

   Posted by Fudu at 12/10/2008 @ 4:11pm

3. >>>The Nation should not collaborate in this hoax.

   Posted by Fudu at 12/10/2008 @ 4:11pm<<<

   It is NOT a hoax!

   If you want your voices heard, go to Change.gov and PARTICIPATE!

   Posted by Metteyya at 12/10/2008 @ 4:13pm

4. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 12/10/2008 @ 5:10pm

   I hope you are just as HAPPY when Obama governs from the left with those cabinet picks!

   Posted by Metteyya at 12/10/2008 @ 5:33pm

5. "I will be HAPPY to watch you true-believers make excuse after excuse for your Messiah....somehow, I just don't think you will be all that HAPPY a year from now!"

   Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 12/10/2008 @ 5:57pm

   The self-proclaimed conservatives keep pretending they know what's going to happen in the future. Just because we've never had a truly participatory democracy doesn't mean that can't happen now. As for the Clintonite, centrist picks, especially at the state and NSA level, I think Obama is placing strong voices here to remove the overwhelming power the Pentagon has maintained over the last 8 years - again, I can't predict the future any better than HAPPY.

   Posted by HAL9000 at 12/10/2008 @ 6:34pm

6. Why is everyone so fat in the picture? Damn lets get a program for national fitness going. That would create jobs right there. Work the fat off of these cows. There is no reason for everyone to be packing around a bunch of fast food bulging over their beltline.

   National Physical Fitness! No more McFat or Burgerdeath.

   Posted by chaoszen at 12/10/2008 @ 11:37pm

7. Eat, Drink and be Merry. But please don't get all fat and smegma smelling. It is bad for our national image. It is disgusting to see elephant people waddling around the store with the saggy load in pants look. Grasping with pudgy hands at "sweetie" foods to fill the pie hole.

   I know it is not all their fault. They are being bombarded with all the wrong foods. So it is also the responsibilty of government to take action to correct the food supply.

   Posted by chaoszen at 12/10/2008 @ 11:49pm

8. Posted by HAL9000 at 12/10/2008 @ 6:34pm

   They don't pretend to know what is going to happen in the future. They just regurgitate talking points from their Masters. They swallow. Like a whore who has learned to take it all the way. Happ and the likes of Lvl are just pawns. The real demons are up the ladder a bit more. But it is difficult to get to them as they are insulated.

   But it is not impossible. It all depends on how dedicated you are.

   Posted by chaoszen at 12/11/2008 @ 12:23am