Funny, I'm talking to an adviser to McCain's campaign. He is very clueless about technology. Amazingly so. The adviser basically admitted that the McCain administration has no technology policy. Very interesting watching this from the edges. - Robert Scoble

It's not the age of the man that bothers me, it's the age of his ideas. Even my 80 yo mother can surf the internet, skype and email. - Sally Church

Hysterically funny, but Borowitz usually is. - Warner Crocker

Sally: even his advisers are frustrated that McCain's inner circle doesn't get this. Obama's advisers tell me they are going to make this a big deal during the election cycle. - Robert Scoble

Robert, wow. Sometimes it is moments like that where you realise that time has moved on. - Sally Church

Sally: here's a note from Kevin Werbach "Technology Matters:" http://www.circleid.com/posts... - Robert Scoble

i know a president could successfully run our country without ever touching a computer, but the fact that he doesn't understand them at all... i just wish these politicians would have a skills draft or something and pick influential people from all areas to help their cause. - Kyle A Koch

Couldn't get mapquest to work??? 5 days to figure out on line shopping. This is a mistake, he should have just let it go. - Victor Ryden

What is scary about this is the lack of *CURIOSITY* about the world, the mental rigidity. Dangerous traits for an American president. - Sean McBride

Victor: the article is a joke. But the sentiment behind it is not. McCain doesn't feel he needs to learn about technology and doesn't feel he needs to have a serious technology policy. All the congressmen/women I interviewed felt it was important to have a national policy toward broadband, network neutrality, advertising and privacy, child protection, and a host of other issues. Will someone who rarely is online, or who only understands what's happening on the Internet from other people be able to lead? - Robert Scoble

Robert - McCain doesn't feel the need or urge to learn about anything -- it's not just the Internet. Thus the endless stream of "gaffes" (ignorant misunderstandings about the world), McCain has a few core beliefs, fanatically held; empirical data matter not a whit to him. - Sean McBride

Robert - Wow, that's a relief (I think), I had already saw a couple of comments so when I went to the article I didn't look carefully at the context. I agree that the most important issue is going to be his choice of advisors. - Victor Ryden

Permit me to speculate that some of McCain's top advisers may actively hate the Internet -- it represents a threat to their monopoly control over public discussion through the traditional MSM. The Internet is blowing the MSM to smithereens, and the owners and controllers of the MSM are not happy campers. - Sean McBride

I hear he is very excited about Geocities... - Johnny Worthington

Robert, from your sources, is "Victory Co-chair" Carly Fiorinna more than window-dressing? Surely she has Something to say about tech policy. Maybe she can propose a tech country for US to acquire...the way HP acquired Compaq - Michael Markman

For me, this issue isn't just about tech and the internet per se, but also about wider issues of how technology now affects our everyday lives in science, medicine, education etc. The impact of science and technology is becoming increasingly complex; sometimes I wonder how much many of the baby boomers in Congress really understand and grasp the mettle. How can you have and implement policies on stem cells or genetic testing, for example, if you don't even understand the basics, never mind the big picture? - Sally Church

If Obama gets all of the geek vote, he'll only need 49.899% of the rest to be elected. - eggsy

Obama is likely to get the vote of all those who are worried that a grumpy and angry old man is going to embroil Americans in another trillion-dollar disaster like the Iraq War. Last I checked, that was a solid majority. - Sean McBride

Perhaps this is really about communication through technology... I've been impressed with the way Obama's staff are active on Soc Nets and answer questions via pm's or forums etc, even though I'm for less government. Many Gen Y are active on FB, grew up with technology and being able to communicate online. How many of those new new voters showed up in the primaries? - Sally Church

am torn: congress is/should be the major actor in most tech considerations VS but the president has a much larger bully pulpit to generate issue support; the next president will have much more important and immediate issues to deal with VS tech will continue to grow in importance; u can't know everything, this is what advisers are for VS tech will continue to increase in importance - at the end of the day I totally understand why this issue resonates but its far from a voting issue for me - Marco(aureliusmaximus)

this has nothing to do with technology. this has everything to do with elitism. ...and that is nothing new for tyranny of the left. Robert Scoble... you and your elitist private feed friends wouldn't know innovation if it slapped you in the face. http://simonstudiotheatre.blogspot.com/2007... - Noah David Simon

@noah - i'm not sure it is in this case - I think it is a reverse example of the power of these tools - usually they allow us to find points of commonality and understanding of one another through the mutual sharing of an array of little pieces of information - those connections impact the way we process one another's information - we are more likely to give the thoughts of someone we have something in common with the ben. of the doubt. Tech is a passion of most here, mccain has indicated he doesnt share it - Marco(aureliusmaximus)

I don't care if he can buy a book at Amazon or not but not having first hand experience of the Web culture is a huge deficit, imo. - Tom Guarriello

Funny how the dirty slurs of politics morph over time. How did "elitist" become the slur du jour? And how did it come to label people who question an enviornment that protects the wealth of the super rich at the expense of the middle class? That's just screwy. We had a class warfare. the rich won. (and they call the losers "elitists"): http://snurl.com/32t96 - Michael Markman

elitists are the people who live off of hierarchy. the rich don't give a damn about the hierarchy, cuz they are already rich. it is the nouveau rich that back stab their way up. Regardless, ur idea of what tech is betrays your ignorance when you think web dialog is high tech. Most high tech people are not big dialogers. Tech folks tend to not be into argument. I went to Carnegie Mellon. My roommate was a chip designer. He was a Republican and a church goer. Scoble is a media figure with pretensions http://simonstudiotheatre.blogspot.com/2007... - Noah David Simon

friendfeed is a forum... like a coffee shop on the left bank of paris. this isn't a bunch of mechanic geeks tooling around. The tech stuff is mostly consumer based. I'm not buying the pretensions. yes folks.. wake up and smell the coffee... you are elitists. it might not be a bad thing if there were more transparency within the forum, but most of your agendas are hidden behind your private feeds. call a spade a spade. you are not reinventing the wheel. you are nothing but uptight snobs. http://simonstudiotheatre.blogspot.com/2007... - Noah David Simon

It doesn't bother me when politicians don't use computers, because they are in such an old school meatspace business. politicians do their work in person. not their staffs, but the candidates for sure. what bothers me is that the internet is not like anything but itself. metaphors don't work. so if you don't have it as part of your life, you have no idea what it is and you aren't qualified to make policy related to it. - Lucas Gonze

you people are just cruel. I can't believe you are so mean spirited. John uses a Blackberry, but can't type because of war injuries. He didn't want to come out and say it. would you kick FDR's wheelchair? - Noah David Simon