Behind the Headlines

By Charles Slat

Here’s the note that showed up in my e-mail early today. The subject was “How this happened:”

Charles –
I’m about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don’t want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign — every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it’s time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I’ll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing…
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack

I got this message because I sent the Obama campaign my e-mail address to get press credentials when he visited Monroe for a Labor Day campaign stop. I’ve been getting periodic, personalized messages ever since. Most of them were accompanied by appeals to donate $5.
I mention this because I’ve never seen any candidate’s campaign make such efficient use of the Internet. I also got e-mails from Michelle Obama and Joe Biden.
As Republican 56th House candidate Jean Dahm said Tuesday, Obama’s use of technology “was brilliant.” That’s high praise from a woman who helps run Computer Works, her sons’ technology company in Monroe, but it certainly seems to be warranted.