Where does Barack Obama stand on technology issues?

Opening up government via the Internet

Sen. Obama has made a good deal of noise since the primaries on the subject of opening up the federal government. Some may consider portions of his proposals the type of lofty, pie-in-the-sky proclamations they'd normally hear from a typical politician. But Obama's concept of a government empowered by technology to reach the people, is probably the most comprehensive effort to date to at least envision how the Internet may be tied into the day-to-day business of Washington, DC.

Government data would be opened up to the public in 'universally accessible formats,' Obama proposes, while the executive decision making process would be opened up, not only to solicit opinions from the public but also tap into the expertise of the public at large on certain subjects. Government departments and agencies would more directly and frequently account for themselves and their activities online, with requirements to provide more public reports of their business, and to invite public participation.

Americans would also be invited to comment on legislation on the President's desk for up to five days before the President signs it, essentially allowing citizens themselves to lobby the President directly.

A cabinet-level chief technology officer

Another major change that would significantly affect how the federal government would deal with technology is the appointment of what is being described as a "chief technology officer."

This cabinet-level official would be tasked with ensuring all branches are using technology in an effective manner. It would play hand-in-hand with the open government initiative, as the CTO would also be responsible for managing transparency as well.

Interoperability would also be another important factor that the CTO would need to manage. This would prevent confusion between agencies during national crises, and avoid bottlenecks which occurred on 9/11 and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

To some extent, the White House has had a central authority in charge of information systems since the first term of the Clinton administration. But this was far from a cabinet-level official; in fact, his contact with the President was certainly not direct, and most often limited to e-mail discussions.

The creation of a "cabinet level post" entails, by definition, the creation of a cabinet department, because cabinet secretaries require something to be secretaries of. This is a portion of Obama's oft-floated CTO proposal that has not been expanded upon, perhaps in order to deflect criticisms that the creation of yet another cabinet department would increase the size of government and only weigh further on an already resource-strapped federal budget.

Coming next week: BetaNews looks at the technology policy and credentials of Sen. John McCain and his running mate.