Obama, Technology, and Government

There are some interesting observations in Farhad Manjoo's piece on the Obama administration's failures to live up to its promises about using technology to make government more effective, efficient, and responsive. But there are also some significant problems with the piece that I think need addressing.

First, Manjoo conflates Obama's failures to build on the technological elements of his campaign in building his political coalition with the progress, or lack of progress he's made, on making government more technologically open. This is a major, major problem that people who don't write about government frequently make. But a president has several jobs, among them working with, and sometimes against, the legislative branch, and making internal executive branch decisions about the direction of policy. Failing to rally supporters through a streamlined and transitioned Obama for America network is not a failure to make government agencies more open and technologically savvy. Failing to recognize that they're different would be a different kettle of fish altogether, and an intriguing argument for someone to make, but Manjoo doesn't make it.