Wiring the White House

Barack Obama’s campaign collected an unprecedented number of email addresses and used the Internet like no campaign before it. Did you think that he would check these assets at the White House door? The Washington Post reports that Obama is “preparing a major expansion of the White House communications operation, enabling them to reach out directly to the supporters they have collected over 21 months without having to go through the mainstream media.” After victory, Obama sent his supporters a text message saying that they hadn’t heard the last of him. Obama’s email database is so valuable that, during a cash-crunch late in his campaign, they offered it as collateral on a loan.