Frank Strategies: The Blog

I just visited the Obama transition website Change.gov for the first time in a week or so, and they continue to give citizens a tantalizing little peek behind the scenes at Transition HQ. Just take a quick look at the two Flickr slide shows linked here and here and the web video embedded below:

Most Washington insiders probably look at these images and see nothing remarkable – Obama and his team walking through the bowels of a hotel basement, gathered around a makeshift conference table, preparing for a news conference.

But to most Americans who are either excited about the public policy process for the first time or just now re-engaging after a long bout of cynicism, these images resonate. They’ve never seen this kind of stuff from politicians before. They’ve never been backstage at a presidential news conference. They’ve never seen the staff debating how to proceed on specific policy items. Of course, they still really aren’t, since these images are selectively edited, but they feel like they’re seeing something they’re not supposed to see.

As I’ve pointed out before, the good news for Hill conservatives is that this is relatively easy to do. While Obama’s team is seen meeting with “advocates for the environment,” why shouldn’t GOP Members of Congress release their own short videos showing them meeting with, listening to and gathering input from taxpayer advocates or small-business owners from back home? Or post photos that go beyond the typical shots standing behind a podium or a forced-smile grip-and-grin in the office? How about some shots of listening to constituents or meeting with staff or pointing out something interesting on a Capitol tour instead of only posing for a group shot? Just something different and seemingly unstaged that lets citizens feel a little closer and emotionally connected to their elected officials?