Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address
Robert Buderi11/17/08Follow @bbuderi
In case you weren’t one of the 657,000 people who have watched it as of this writing, Barack Obama posted his first post-election YouTube address on Saturday, signaling a new stage in the evolution of presidential communications. The President elect, who plans to give weekly video addresses in parallel to the traditional weekly radio messages, touted a range of plans in his three-and-a-half-minute message (embedded below), most notably his ideas for getting America out of the current recession by rebuilding bridges, schools, and roads, providing affordable health care and high-quality education, and investing in the country’s long-term energy future.
“It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil and saving our planet for our children,” Obama said of his energy plans.
Wade, our resident PhD in the history of technology, notes that Obama isn’t the first politician to use YouTube in such a manner. Hillary Clinton, for one, posted a series of high-quality Internet addresses and other videos during her campaign. Wade also notes (as have others), that there are historical parallels to be made here—starting with FDR’s use of radio, through which he pioneered the “fireside chat” format, which was later copied by Jimmy Carter on TV.
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