The Internet was invented in this country, but we are losing our global competitive edge by failing to take advantage of it. We need a tech policy that understands that an open Internet is the greatest incubator of innovation in history. We need a leader committed to connecting every American to this new public space. We need an administration that understands that the connectedness the Internet provides is a transformative tool for our economy, culture, and democracy. We need an administration led by Barack Obama.

The differences between the two candidates are stark.  While the Obama policy protects intellectual property, it understands the power of sharing ideas. The Obama policy embraces the Internet as an opportunity. It is the right policy for the US to keep its technological lead.

The fate of the Internet - our Internet - will be determined in the next four years. Barack Obama is clearly the right choice for leading us into the future with an Internet that reaches every American and touches every American ideal.

The most important election in our lifetime is coming up in just six weeks. It is, quite simply, about change. Do we continue on the disastrous course set by the Bush administration, a course that has brought us the collapse of financial markets, record budget deficits, a needless war, a loss of our most cherished freedoms, and the disdain of the rest of the world? That is the course John McCain would set. [McCain, while he claims to be a maverick, and actually was at one point, is busily abandoning all his maverick positions in favor of the Bush orthodoxy]. Or do we strive to rebuild this country and to recover from the damage we have been dealt in the past eight years? Do we seek to reinvest in the country and its people, to provide affordable health care, to ensure that our government behaves according to the law, and to engage and build relations with the rest of the world? Barack Obama is the most inspiring leader I have known in my 41 years. If anyone can reverse the course set by the Bush Administration and restore the promise of America, it is Obama.

But make no mistake, the Republicans will do everything in their power to prevent that from happening. They are telling outright lies about Obama, playing on fear and racial prejudice in hopes of swinging this election. Don't let them.

We have to act, and act now. If you aren't registered to vote, do so quickly -- the deadline in most states is fast approaching. And vote for Barack, obviously. But we need to do more. Give money and give time to the campaign. I know that we are all too busy, and that in the current economic climate we feel all too poor. But there is nothing more important for the next six weeks than making sure this election goes the right way. So please, please, give money to Obama. If you have already given, give more. And do it as soon as possible, so the money can make a difference in the election.[I attach a form to this email for that purpose]. And then give your time. Walk a precinct, or call your neighbors. To find out how to volunteer, go to

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/content/splashsignupcky/

Barack Obama offers an exciting new vision for America based on "inter"-dependent thinking about transparency, connections, and the complex linkages between the networks. Obama is the person to lead the networks of our families, our businesses, and our country, within the larger networks of the world, into the future.

Obama's technology policy plan is innovative, astute, and comprehensive, he is the most technologically sophisticated candidate since Al Gore. America is currently is a world leader in technical expertise. This can either be neglected, as McCain and Bush have done, or recognized, highlighted, and supported to encourage innovations and intelligent decisions on electronic voting, privacy policy, network access neutrality, political open source transparency, and the related issues that will define our collective future.

Barack Obama is the candidate of the future in this election.  His proposals, his campaign, and his breadth of supporters demonstrate his appreciation of the value of an open innovation economy. Obama understands that technology isn't just another special interest category; it's a means to empower individuals, turbocharge businesses, make government radically more accessible, and tackle other major challenges like energy independence, health care, and education. That's why he put out a detailed tech agency even before the primaries, and garnered the support of so many leading tech experts.  The 21st-century connected global economy calls for a new kind of leader.  Obama gets it.

During an inspiring technology policy event I organized in Reno, Nevada, I used my opening remarks to speak about the importance of developing a strong technology policy to serve as a framework
Obama posesses two qualities that will be essential for the next president.  He excels at strategic thinking, but also recognizes the importance of building a supportive community.  

The battle between “open” and “closed” was the subtext of most of the major stories I covered in a dozen years as a journalist reporting on Silicon Valley and the software industry for The Wall Street Journal and the San Jose Mercury News. Whether it was the cable/telco vision of a proprietary “information superhighway” vs. the open Internet, or Microsoft’s antitrust battles or the emergence of open-source, proponents of closed business models invoked supposed market realities to argue that shared, collaborative, free or open alternatives would either not work or would kill the incentives for investment and innovation. Instead, open models, starting with the Internet itself, have enlarged the pie and created new opportunities, new companies and whole new industries.

With his support for net neutrality and other policy positions, Barack Obama has shown that he “gets” that the creation of such digital commons is pro-innovation and pro-market, at the same time that it’s also pro-inclusion. And with his proposals for open-source government and other social innovations, he wants to build on the digital commons to help scale solutions, increase participation and enforce transparency in the real world, just as he has in his presidential campaign.

Those promoting closed business models, whether they be mobile carriers or large ISPs, don’t need John McCain to make their voices heard. But the digital commons is always in danger of falling victim to that oft-cited tragedy. Not being a working journalist these days, I'm free to say: I’m counting on Barack Obama to continue to champion the open.

In the 21st century, the world faces a handful of truly global challenges:  energy and environmental sustainability, human health, stability of interconnected economies and communications, and sustainable growth in digital and physical infrastructure.

Each of these challenges can be solved only with a key ingredient:  INNOVATION.

And those innovation-based solutions can be deployed in the world only with the effort of a key group: ENTREPRENEURS.

As a result, as I look into the next 4 years and the next 50 years, I believe it will be the focus and strength of support that we give to innovation and entrepreneurs that will define the success of the USA, and the global community, in meeting the most essential challenges.

Barack Obama is the leader we need to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the 21st century.

Beginning with early childhood our education system is a key determinant of whether future generations of America will rise to their full potential and sustain themselves as a powerful, benevolent and advanced society.

The confluence of well-paid teachers, smaller classrooms, technology, parental and community guidance inspire generations of Americans to evolve our body of knowledge in medicine, space exploration, science, mathematics and technology. The foundation of knowledge for each generation is cast within the halls of our schools.

Our ability to move beyond the boundaries and experience a breakthrough --whether it is in the form of a new chipset capable of substantial processing power, new forms of clean, safe and renewable energy, or  medical research resulting in cures for AIDS, ALS, cancer or Parkinson's is shaped by the resources we can invest as a society. During a time of prosperity we can dream about tomorrow without being solely encumbered by the harsh realities of today. When we can invest in education, research, healthcare, energy  and programs that create opportunities for all --we are improving the foundation for our lives, our families and generations yet to come.

When we invest in perpetual war, a ruinous 20th century oil economy, a "bail out" of investment bankers and prisons we are simply depleting our capability as a nation. And when we borrow from our generation and future generations for such misguided appropriations we weaken America and jeopardize America's future.

We cannot tolerate another political cycle of expensive, failed policy in Washington. We must have leadership that will invest in our future.  We must have leadership that will once again dare each of us to dream of what is possible. Leadership that implements a coherent foreign policy that is predicated upon benevolence and strength, not "let them hate us as long as they fear us".  Leadership in domestic programs, energy policy and environmental protection that creates real opportunity for all.

This is why I'm honored to cast my vote for Barack Obama. I see it as a vote for what America can become. It is a vote for the potential of America that is embodied in our Declaration of Independence. It is a vote for all that gave their lives for our ideals. It is a vote for the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And it is a vote for my children and grandchildren.

George A. Polisner

President/CEO

alonovo, inc.

Senator Obama is the first mainstream candidate to speak out clearly about the connections between innovation, American competitiveness, and national security.  He has set out an inspriing set of policies to drive economic growth and energy independence in part through competition and innovation in the technology sector.

Our dependence on foreign oil requires the United States to expend huge amounts of blood and treasure to defending our access to oil from unsavory regeimes in the Middle East and other parts of the world. It also creates economic vulnerability by making us dependant on on infusions of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign capital to finance our purchases.  As both candidates have now remarked, we are borrowing from the Chinese to pay for oil from people who don't like us very much.

Senator Obama believes in nurturing the culture of entreprenurship in the Unites States by funding education in math & science, encouraging competition, and funding research in clean technologies of the future.  His strategic view of the problem and proactive approach to kicking innovation into high gear will be the basis for solving America's problems over the long term.

The problems we face are too great for small measures.  We have a leader in Barack Obama with the vision and understanding to give us big solutions.

We need a leader who is aware of technology and the potential it has to transform business and work in the next 10 years. If our economy fails to capture the opportunities offered by this transformation and the possibilities it has to move us ahead, we will probably decline as an economic power.

In contrast to Richard Sennett, who recently wrote that he sees no chance in the US producing high wage jobs and opportunity for employees in the coming years, I think there is a chance to move the economy into a new phase as a result of the growth of new ways of using the Internet and Social Networking. To take advantage of these opportunities, the nation will need sophisticated political leaders who keep paths open for expanding new technologies and developing new skills in the workforce.

The campaign that Senator Obama has run indicates far more understanding of the potential of the Internet than any of his Democratic rivals or Senator McCain. Nevertheless, moving the country ahead and building the base for a new economic revival will take considerable leadership skills and insight into how to transform the industrial base.

I believe that Senator Obama is the only candidate who can bring these abilities to bear on the challenge we face in the arena of innovation, technology development, and creating the base so we can compete in the new economy