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December 20, 2009

Behind the scenes at the White House

The White House has been running a series of Behind the scenes films providing an interesting insight into how the Executive branch operates, and a look at areas of the White House not seen before.

My view is these kind of behind the scenes videos contribute towards the tenets of the recently released Open Government Directive. These short films promote the principle of Transparency, by providing a more human perspective into how the White House operates. After all, the White House entity is just a collection of government employees doing their day jobs.  

While the Transparency component of the Open Government plan does not explicitly state any requirement for Behind the Scenes films of how agencies operate, they're a useful mechanism for addressing the increasing YouTube centric youth of today.

It's MTV Cribs meets the Federal Government (well at least the Executive branch anyway). 

Situation Room

An exclusive look inside one of the most secure spaces in the United States, the White House Situation Room.

The Cabinet

President Obama and Cabinet members share their perspectives on their bimonthly cabinet meetings. 

The White House garden

First Lady Michelle Obama and White House chef Sam Kass telling the story of the first garden on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during World War II.

Letters to the President

President Obama reads ten letters from the public in order to stay in tune with America's issues and concerns. The video provides an insight into how these letters arrive at the White House and are sorted for the President's attention.

 

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Filed under  //   Obama   Transparency   White House  

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November 8, 2009

'Oh, what a night!' - House Passes Health Reform

Late last night, the US House of Representatives passed the Democrats' healthcare reform bill. Despite countless attempts over recent decades, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.

As Nancy Pelosi said: "Oh, what a night!".

In order to pass the bill, Democrats needed a majority, or 218 votes. They got 220.

The WhiteHouse released a simple chart reflecting the President's plan.

For more on the President's plan see video below:

Following the vote the White House released a statement from President Obama:

Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.

Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.

It's now off to the Senate.

The Final Vote

The Post-Vote Press Conference

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Filed under  //   Healthcare Reform   Obama  

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September 12, 2009

Designing the Obama Campaign

Scott Thomas talks about the Obama 2008 campaign and how it marked the first time that branding and design played a pivotal role in a presidential bid.

Scott Thomas: Designing the Obama Campaign from 99% on Vimeo

“It’s all about getting people involved in the process and to participate in the process”.

Jascha Franklin-Hodge from BlueStateDigital outlined more details of the my.barackobama.com site at the Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco earlier this year. He managed the team that built and ran the my.barackobama.com technology platform, and worked directly with Obama for America’s New Media team in providing the tools and platform to engage supporters, donors and volunteers.


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Filed under  //   Design   Obama  

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