Internet Army Could Power Obama Presidency

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has so revolutionized politics that he may not even need the Democratic party, writes David Carr in the New York Times. Parties are supposed to provide a base of support, a brand, ground troops, money, and relationships—all things Obama already has in abundance. The president-elect ran his campaign like a Silicon Valley startup, turning a pile of social networking technologies into the nation’s best political machine. More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama is determined to turn the legions of Facebook friends and Twitter subscribers that got him elected into an effective force for his administration, the New York Times reports. He’s already begun issuing his weekly addresses via YouTube video, rather than radio, and crafted a new group called Organizing for America to coordinate his online efforts. More»

Executive order fingers entities backing Iran, Syria, but could be enlarged

(NEWSER) - If you use technology to help a repressive regime commit human rights abuses, you'll find yourself slapped with US sanctions. That's the message from President Obama, who this morning announced a new executive order specifically targeting those backing Iran and Syria via technology, though it could be expanded to other regimes, reports the Washington Post . The new sanctions will include a US visa ban and financial restrictions on a number of Syrian and Iranian businesses and government agencies, along with a lone Syrian individual. More»

Hollywood VIPs will play role in Election 2012

(NEWSER) - The Obama campaign has released a list of campaign co-chairs, and it includes some big names … from Hollywood. Harold and Kumar actor Kal Penn, who has already spent some time working at the White House , and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria are both named, Politico reports. "The president’s national co-chairs will be tremendous assets on the ground as we build the biggest grassroots campaign in history," campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement. "They each share the president’s vision for a future where every American can have a fair shot at success, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded." More»

That's more than double the proportion from 2007: analysis

(NEWSER) - President Obama continues to be successful raising money through small donations—and this time around, he's outpacing his campaign from four years ago. Last year, almost half of the money raised by the president's re-election campaign came from donors who gave $200 or less in total, a new report from the Campaign Finance Institute shows. In 2007, by comparison, just 22% of the $96.7 million he raised came from donations of $200 or less. In total, Obama raised $56.7 million from small donors last year, compared to the $38.1 million small donors contributed to all of his Republican opponents combined. More»