By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 20, 2008; Page C01
CHICAGO- Amid the cramped, crowded cubicles inside Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters here, sandals are as ubiquitous as iPods. Two young guys in shorts and T-shirts throw a football around. An electoral college map (California 55, Texas 34, etc.) is taped to the wall in the men’s bathroom. A BlackBerrying staffer sneezes and blurts out, “Whew! I think I’m allergic to hope!”
This is Triple O — Obama’s online operation.
Five years ago, Howard Dean’s online-fueled campaign cemented the Internet’s role as a political force. Exactly how big a force no one was quite sure. But this year’s primary season, spanning six months, proved that online buzz and activity can translate to offline, on-the-ground results. Indeed, the Web has been crucial to how Obama raises money, communicates his message and, most important, recruits, energizes and turns out his supporters.
The new-media gurus are, from left, Nikki Sutton, Joe
Rospars, Chris Hughes, Kate Albright-Hanna, Scott Goodstein
and Sam Graham-Felsen. (By Warren Skalski For WaPo)
With less than three months to go before the election, Triple O is the envy of strategists in both parties, redefining the role that an online team can play within a campaign.
“Theirs is an operation that everyone will be studying for campaigns to come,” says Peter Daou, who was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Internet director. Read More.
