Obama Proposes "Smarter" Government Modeled On His Campaign, Google
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Back in 2007, when I was first running for this office, I had the opportunity to visit Google headquarters in Mountain View, in Silicon Valley, to discuss ways we could use technology to allow more citizens to participate in their democracy, and bring a government built largely in the 20th century into the 21st century.
After all, we had already set out to build a new type of campaign -- one that used technology to bring people together, and then trusted them with that technology to organize on their own. And the idea was simple: Instead of bringing more people to the campaign, we wanted to bring the campaign to more people, and let them determine its course and its nature. If you wanted to make phone calls or knock on doors, you didn’t have to come into a field office first, you could just get the information you needed right on your phone and go out there and do it. If you wanted to get your friends involved, then we had the tools to help you connect.
And I very much felt that some of the things that we were doing to help us get elected could also be used once we were elected. If you wanted to share your story, we could help you get your story out. And throughout this process, we created one of the most inclusive and one of the most successful campaigns in American history.
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OBAMA: It makes sense for us to be able to redesign government so that it can deliver on the functions that the American people are looking for. We should all want a government that’s smarter, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people.
Now, the good news is America is full of talented, dedicated public servants who are working really hard every day to uphold the public trust. And those of us who believe that government has a responsibility to guarantee some level of basic security, and to make sure everybody gets a fair shot at success -- from the entrepreneur who wants to start a business, to the workers who will work in that business -- we also have a responsibility to make sure that government works. And that’s why I’m glad that we’ve got people like Scott and Claire and Garren and so many other talented, idealistic men and women who have signed up to help us tackle these challenges. That's why we’re so proud that Sylvia is going to be heading this up.
And I’m going to be asking more people around the country -- more inventors and entrepreneurs and visionaries -- to sign up to serve. We’ve got to have the brightest minds to help solve our biggest challenges. And it’s a reminder that in this democracy, we the people recognize that this government belongs to us, and it’s up to each of us and every one of us to make it work better. We can’t just stand on the sidelines. We can’t take comfort in just being cynical. We all have a stake in government success -- because the government is us.
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