Obama, YouTube, and the Internet Presidency

Kevin Maney writes: When Barack Obama assumes office, he plans to take the idea of the weekly presidential radio address to YouTube. There's no indication this will be a radical change -- the YouTube addresses look like they'll be pretty straightforward, with a suit-and-tie Obama framed like a TV anchor, reading the material. It's a radio address that lets you see his face. It's not like he's carrying his pocket videocam into the soon-to-come White House basketball court, which Obama has said he'll build after he rips out the White House bowling alley. I mean, if Obama really wanted to be hip, he'd do his addresses from his cell phone while walking between meetings and instantly upload them on Qik.

The main outcome of Obama going to YouTube might be to revive the weekly presidential address in the public's mind. Ronald Reagan invented the idea, and used them to good effect. These included the gaffe when he thought the mic was turned off -- when he announced that he'd outlawed the Soviet Union and would begin bombing in five minutes. When I checked on the Web, it appears that President Bush has been doing weekly radio addresses all along -- but who knew? When's the last time anyone not named Rush Limbaugh listened to one of those?


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