Comments on FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: OFA 2.0, and A Stimulating "Working Session" in Ma...

I'm also in the "top-down" questioning mode. Can ...

2009-02-10T16:49:00.000-05:00

I'm also in the "top-down" questioning mode. Can anyone explain to me exactly what OFA 2.0 is? The only website for it, I think, is BarackObama.com, and it has no description of OFA's mission or methods. All I get is a link to local activities...and they're not my cup of tea.

The DNC website has nothing about OFA, though it does offer some structure for action. But, again, I'm looking for something different.

Does OFA 2.0 actually exist, or is it just a trial balloon at this point?

Sounds cool... wish I could have gone to a real "w...

2009-02-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

Sounds cool... wish I could have gone to a real "working meeting" like that! Maybe next time the OFA folks will get moving sooner and be more clear about what sorts of actions they are looking for. Not to get all top-down on anyone, but just watching a video of Tim Kaine doesn't get it done. Nice to see that these folks found other ways to be engaged.

I'm impressed with this meeting! Great to see peop...

2009-02-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

I'm impressed with this meeting! Great to see people so engaged in understanding the stimulus plan.

Thanks, Sean. Your reporting keeps bringing a uniq...

2009-02-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Sean. Your reporting keeps bringing a unique and personal perspective.

I'd like to contrast your reportage with that of the New York Times' Gail Collins, criticized by The Daily Howler for its sneering, dismissive tone.

wv: bulies: well-paid opinion-mongers who sneer and insult for a living.

I don't blame the groups who were reluctant to hav...

2009-02-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

I don't blame the groups who were reluctant to have any sort of press coverage and well-trafficked blogs kinda count as press these days too. I think just knowing press was there would intimidate a lot of people and keep them from speaking in the meeting. I don't think I would say anything publicly where I knew I might be quoted. And really the point of these groups is to offer free communication of ideas among ordinary citizens. Too much press coverage could stifle that.

Fred,Jack's just a forum troll trying to get peopl...

2009-02-09T18:25:00.000-05:00

Fred,

Jack's just a forum troll trying to get people to fly off the handle at him. Just ignore him.

And I agree, this is the kind of indicator that actually tells you something. The media focuses so much on self-appointed experts and so little on what life looks like from down here on the ground. these kind of stories provide us with a realistic picture of how government affects and interacts with the common citizen. Bravo, Sean.

The traffic is actually up since just after the el...

2009-02-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

The traffic is actually up since just after the election, so well, you are clueless.

This is a good report from the ground by Sean, but I would love to see some real reporting from odd spots. Go find a bar near the education department, or the patent office.

Now that Obama is president, this site seems to be...

2009-02-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

Now that Obama is president, this site seems to be dying. Seems to be a huge lack of interest. I think it it this type of malaise (Carter years) that will galvanize and bring back the 'daddy' party to power.

The other countries know when the US has a 'mommy' party in power. With the GOP having some to most power during Clinton, it seems that other countries respected us. We are now entering a rehash of the Carter years.

This is precisely why Obama will be a highly effec...

2009-02-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

This is precisely why Obama will be a highly effective President. He has taken the 'fireside chat' of FDR to an entirely different level. Instead of a one-way convo with the radio bringing his message into your home, he is literally in your home-or at least, his representatives are. And it's a not just a one-way convo, either-you can contribute and ask questions and tell President Obama what you think!

Instead of just letting the apparatus he created to get elected lie around gathering dust for four years, he's making use of it to get his policies passed.

Plouffe and Axelrod may have entirely reinvented politics here-this is fucking brilliant!

Kratovil, not Kravotil.

2009-02-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

Kratovil, not Kravotil.

2nd!

2009-02-09T17:59:00.000-05:00

2nd!

Sean Quinn wrote, "The only downside I have to rep...

2009-02-09T17:39:00.000-05:00

Sean Quinn wrote, "The only downside I have to report is that not all meetings were equally receptive to press attention. The hostess of one well-attended party in Virginia on Sunday asked me not to come..."

Sean, maybe she heard of your performance at the White House press conference, where your shout out undermined Obama's not-too-subtle strategy of relating stimulus jobs results to Republican Senators' states. J/K.