US elections aren't decided until after Baseball's World Series, according to the old axiom. We are going to offer a few thoughts on each US presidential candidate's technology program.

John McCain's campaign didn't release a formal technology agenda until August of 2008. Obama had a technology agenda in place in fall of 2007. Senator McCain's official policy position on technology is an interesting read. Here is Senator Barack Obama's 2007 information on technology.

People in high political offices rarely have first hand experience with technology. Senator John McCain should be the exception, because has been the long time chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, a position he held from 1997 to 2001, and again from 2003 to 2005. This is the committee which has jurisdiction over the US Senate legislation dealing with policy about science, engineering, and technology research and development. What effect did McCain's guidance have on our industry?

Salon.com said that McCain oversaw the committee at a crucial point in history: the explosion of the Internet economy. During McCain's tenure, the committee oversaw the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the first major overhaul of US telecommunications law in nearly 62 years. The article's author, Amanda Terkel, said that in most instances, McCain chose to be pro-big business. He was the sole Senate Republican to vote against a 1996 law requiring big phone companies to lease their phone networks to rivals to spur local competition. She also said that McCain opposed increased Internet access for schools and libraries, backing instead large mergers to benefit the telecom industry.

Julius Genachowski, technology advisor to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, said that during McCain's Chairmanship of Senate Commerce Committee the US fell from third to fifteenth in broadband penetration which he called shocking. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who serves as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said "Deploying broadband is really hard work, [but] it is the critical foundation for achieving, in my judgment, all of our laudable goals, no excuses; it has to be done."

In the Salon article, Dr. Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford University professor and Internet expert, said that what concerns him is that McCain will do as George Bush did. That was to make technology an issue related only to how his administration raised money to run the government or to fund campaigns, and not as an independent issue that is important to grow America. McCain apparently can't even use it to his campaign's advantage.

A Pew Internet Project report says that a record-breaking 46% of Americans have already used the Internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign this election season. Three online activities have become especially prominent as the presidential primary campaigns have progressed: First, 35% of Americans say they have watched online political videos - a figure that nearly triples the results the Pew Internet Project got in the 2004 race. Second, 10% say they have used social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace to gather information or become involved. Third, 6% of Americans have made political contributions online, compared with 2% who did that during the entire 2004 campaign.

In the same Salon magazine article, they reported that in August McCain's deputy e-campaign director, Mark Soohoo, drew snickers at the tech-savvy Personal Democracy Forum conference last June when defending McCain's lack of computer experience. Soohoo was reported to have desperately insisted: "You don't necessarily have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country (and) John McCain is aware of the Internet."

Congressman Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, compared the two campaigns thus: Barack Obama's campaign has been working like the promise of wireless broadband, while John McCain's is functioning more like a 1980's dial-up connection using FidoNet. McCain's campaign has technology positions which have also suffered from combative comments in many blogs.

With the election only one day away, now comes the nitty-gritty of which candidate has made the better use of technology. Both candidates have solicited donations online – and via targeted emails. Obama is cashing in on the power of the Internet. According to The Atlantic in February, without a single personal appearance at a fund raiser, Obama brought in $55 million — $45 million of it over the Internet.

Last Wednesday, the Obama campaign put on a half hour television commercial on the seven major US networks. The primetime show attracted more than 33 million viewers for a rumored/reported cost of somewhere between $3 million and $7 million. One of the big technology guru's in this TV ad was Google CEO, Erik Schmidt. The following day Schmidt spoke at University of Virginia Law School. He said that Obama's innovative use of technology throughout his campaign shows he understands the need for technological growth. Obama visited Google late last year and Schmidt is often mentioned for a Cabinet-level technology advisor position in any future Obama White House.

Chris Hughes, the founder of Facebook, is on Obama's team – and shows his influence on Obama's website that makes excellent use of social networking to glean support for the candidate. You need only look at McCain's site to see how antiquated is his approach.

Last Thursday there was to be a major technology debate between surrogates for the two candidates. The New America Foundation and Wired magazine were scheduled to host an event on tech policy with top McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin v. Obama adviser and former FCC chairman Reed Hundt. However, Holtz-Eakin, never showed up. McCain's advisor canceled that morning, but was seen on MSNBC cable show. If nothing else that was rude on the part of the McCain camp.

No matter who is the victor in Tuesday's presidential election, they will face a host of acute economic problems on a scale not seen since the 1930s. We wonder what role technology will really play in bringing the economy back around?

Will Americans trust their technology's future to an out of touch grandpa, or to the candidate from a younger generation who is hip to the power and influence of the high-tech world. X

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