Obama's Internet Director Finally Steps on Stage

Joe Rospars might be the most important Obama strategist you've never heard much about.

He oversaw Internet and new media for the innovative Obama campaign, but usually shunned the spotlight. While many operatives and organizers (understandably) took credit for their victory last November, and opened up about their work during the Inaugural press blitz, Rospars remained largely in the background, just as he did during the campaign. Until today. National Journal's Amy Harder has a detailed profile of the calm mind behind Obama's aggressive Internet strategy:

[One night in March 2007, Obama's web team was] waiting for someone special to arrive -- the campaign's 75,000th donor, a milestone that, at the time, seemed grand. Rospars, then 25, had recently come on as the campaign's new media director, overseeing a team of fewer than a dozen Web specialists. From the start he was committed to recognizing donors, not money, recalls [Sam] Graham-Felsen, who ran the campaign's blog. So when the donation came in, Graham-Felsen remembers Rospars saying, "Let's give that guy a call." The donor's story was spotlighted on the blog and e-mailed to thousands of supporters. The blog post was signed by Graham-Felsen, and the e-mail came from campaign director David Plouffe. Not from Rospars, even though the idea was his. That's how Rospars wanted it.

In fact, Rospars never put his name on any official campaign e-mail, or any he sent while working for the Democratic National Committee or Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign before that. "If he wanted to, 13 million people could know the name Joe Rospars," Graham-Felsen said. Rospars rebuffed every invitation, even though he admits e-mail "is the thing that I am probably the most involved with."

Rospars was low-key when I interviewed him during the campaign, so Harder's article rang true to me. Readers may also recognize Sam Graham-Felsen's name -- the Obama campaign blogger who previously wrote for The Nation. Hiring journalists, Rospars explained, helped bring an "editorial vision" to the campaign website's content about Obama and his supporters.

The entire profile is here.

Comments (12)

1. What is the dude's take on Obama's continuation of NSA's spying on American citizens over the internet?

   Posted by OneVote at 04/14/2009 @ 3:58pm

2. sounds like a cool young go getter...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 04/14/2009 @ 3:58pm

3. Posted by OneVote at 04/14/2009 @ 3:58pm

   Lol right... stay on point,

   hehe

   From "Eight reasons to dump Larry Summers"

   "Second, consider Summers infamous comments at the World Bank. In December of 1999, Summers as Chief Economist for the World Bank wrote in a memo that bore his signature and was leaked to the press that though free-trade wouldn't much benefit the environment in developing countries, there was a clear economic logic in dumping toxic waste in them. This gives you a sense of the man's character, or lack of it.

   Summers actually wrote, "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage countries is impeccable and we should face up to that . . . I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are also vastly under-polluted." I wonder how that would have sat with President Obama's late father who was Kenyan. It's patronizing beyond insult. And if that's how Summers calculates human value, we are in big trouble.

   "If European govenments are allowing la cosa nostra to dump nuclear waste in Somali waters, that is a horrendous crime.

   I predict that absolutely nothing will be done about it. The Somalis don't have a government. The French still think of Africa as their pissing grounds. The mafia is the mafia. And the US now looks to Europe as our moral betters."

   Posted by gangpapist at 04/14/2009 @ 1:34pm

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 04/14/2009 @ 3:58pm

   I agree, very "net-roots."

   Posted by V at 04/14/2009 @ 5:08pm

4. Just in case the other eight might be found interesting.

   "Fifth, Summers ganged up with ex-Fed Chairman Greenspan and Enron's corpse, "Kenny boy" Lay. This was during the California energy crisis of 2000 when the boyz beat up on then Governor Grey Davis, lecturing Davis that the reason for their energy crisis was excessive government regulation. Believe that? Summers even browbeat Davis into additional deregulation of California's utilities and even relaxing California's environmental standards in order to "reassure the markets." Reassure them, that is, that they were going to make a bundle bankrupting California."

   http://tinyurl.com/d6jzzf

   Posted by V at 04/14/2009 @ 5:13pm

5. Posted by V at 04/14/2009 @ 5:08pm | ignore this person | warn this person

   which part of africa is supposed to be underpopulated i wonder?

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 04/14/2009 @ 5:23pm

6. It might be that too much credit is given to the internet - a lot of the contributors who gave money or got involved seemingly as a consequence of the internet assuredly must have been facilitated in so doing by the net. On the other hand, this same population of people had just spent 8 years under George Walker Bush. People would have gotten behind Mickey Mouse en masse if he became a front runner.

   Obama's message was primarily spread by television, not the internet.

   Posted by syfriendly at 04/14/2009 @ 5:24pm

7. Posted by OneVote at 04/14/2009 @ 3:58pm

   Lol right... stay on point,

   hehe

   Posted by V at 04/14/2009 @ 5:08pm | ignore this person | warn this person

   'Jus sayin' V....lol

   Posted by OneVote at 04/14/2009 @ 5:49pm

8. This is about as blog-worthy as who wipes up after the new WH puppy!

   Posted by Happy at 04/14/2009 @ 8:06pm

9. This is about as blog-worthy as who wipes up after the new WH puppy!

   Posted by Happy at 04/14/2009 @ 8:06pm

   I concur, Happy. Now what's this I hear about Seth Rogen?

   Posted by k330k at 04/15/2009 @ 07:43am

10. Just think if McCain had won, we'd be hearing about his...

    telegraph and telly-phone director!

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 04/15/2009 @ 08:12am

11. Posted by Mask at 04/15/2009 @ 08:12am

    "What's that you say Alvin? I SAID, WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY?!" Mother York ; Sergeant York

    Posted by Benchrest at 04/15/2009 @ 09:09am

12. Posted by Benchrest at 04/15/2009 @ 09:09am

    "Christmas, Christmas time is near Time for toys and time for cheer We've been good, but we can't last Hurry Christmas, hurry fast Want a plane that loops the loop Me, I want a hula hoop We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late."

    Oh, sorry....wrong Alvin.

    Posted by Mask at 04/15/2009 @ 09:12am