Citizen's Briefing Book
Encyclopedia
Citizen's Briefing Book is a compilation book of recommendations made to President
Barack Obama
by visitors to the Change.gov website, given to the President after his January 20, 2009 inauguration. Internet users were able to post recommendations of changes they would like to see made in the United States, and they were also able to vote on other users' recommendations, as well as participate in a comment process.
The Minnesota
-based company called Reside helped develop the functionality, using technology from Salesforce.com. Co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett
, stated that the Citizen's Briefing Book was a way for the Obama transition process to remain open and transparent. Popular recommendations included ending the prohibition on marijuana use in the United States and the legalization of online poker
. Citizen's Briefing Book received positive comments from writers for the Christian Science Monitor and Business Week, and criticism from writers for Chicago Tribune
and Indianapolis Business Journal
.
Barack Obama
after his inauguration on January 20, 2009. Internet
users originally posted their suggestions at Change.gov, with the plan that after Barack Obama was sworn in as President the website hosting the recommendations would direct users to Whitehouse.gov
. The option to participate in the request for comment format was open until January 20, 2009, where users were able to post suggestions to the President, read others' recommendations, and comment on each others' ideas. Users voted on individual recommendations with an up or down vote for each suggestion.
The web function was developed for the Obama transition team by the Minnesota
-based company called Reside, and utilizes technology from Salesforce.com. Co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Team, Valerie Jarret, stated: "The Citizen's Briefing Book will come directly from the American people. It is yet another way that we will ensure that this transition is the most open and transparent one in history." Members of Obama's transition team interacted with users and responded to the voting. Beth Noveck, a law professor at NYU Law School and a member of the Obama Administration's "Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Team", stated that the book would help the government "get the best ideas for the beginning of the administration".
According to the Change.gov site the best-rated ideas would "rise to the top" of the list, to later be given to the President. As of January 17, 2009 the most popular suggestion, with 70,520 points, advocated ending the prohibition on marijuana use in the United States. By January 19, 2009, over 500,000 people had voted on thousands of suggestions posted by 70,000 individuals. In total over 44,000 suggestions were submitted, with over 1.4 million votes cast for the various recommendations.
Other popular ideas included legalizing online poker
in the United States, and focusing on green initiatives. One post suggested the administration investigate UFOs
, and another suggested Obama hire entertainment personalities including Michael Moore
, Jon Stewart
, Bill Maher
, and Stephen Colbert
. After voting had closed, the most popular suggestion with 92,000 votes was "Ending marijuana prohibition", and the third most popular: "Stop using federal resources to undermine states' medicinal marijuana laws." A representative for President Obama, Jen Psaki, told Reuters
: "President Obama does not support the legalization of marijuana."
highlighted some of the more eccentric suggestions posted, commenting: "As if President Barack Obama doesn't have enough on his plate, he's about to hear the voice of the people, in all its eccentric glory."
Morton Marcus commented in the Indianapolis Business Journal
: "I see the virtue of being open to the public’s concern. I cannot imagine that the president will give attention to issues based on their popularity." In noting that the first and third-most popular items voted upon involved the legalization of marijuana, Andy Sullivan of Reuters
commented on President Obama's efforts to solicit opinions from citizens on legislation: "That approach can deliver unexpected results."
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
by visitors to the Change.gov website, given to the President after his January 20, 2009 inauguration. Internet users were able to post recommendations of changes they would like to see made in the United States, and they were also able to vote on other users' recommendations, as well as participate in a comment process.
The Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based company called Reside helped develop the functionality, using technology from Salesforce.com. Co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Bowman Jarrett is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration. She is a Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, and civic leader...
, stated that the Citizen's Briefing Book was a way for the Obama transition process to remain open and transparent. Popular recommendations included ending the prohibition on marijuana use in the United States and the legalization of online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
. Citizen's Briefing Book received positive comments from writers for the Christian Science Monitor and Business Week, and criticism from writers for Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and Indianapolis Business Journal
Indianapolis Business Journal
Indianapolis Business Journal is a weekly newspaper published in Indianapolis which reports on Central Indiana business. It is the leading publication of IBJ Media. Its economic columnists include Morton Marcus and Michael J. Hicks.- External links :*...
.
Comment process
Citizen's Briefing Book is a work of suggestions by individuals compiled into a book format and submitted to PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
after his inauguration on January 20, 2009. Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
users originally posted their suggestions at Change.gov, with the plan that after Barack Obama was sworn in as President the website hosting the recommendations would direct users to Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov
Whitehouse.gov is the official website of the White House and is owned by the United States government. Launched in October 1994, it contains general American history information, as well as current news pertaining to the President, press briefings, proclamations, executive orders, and any speeches...
. The option to participate in the request for comment format was open until January 20, 2009, where users were able to post suggestions to the President, read others' recommendations, and comment on each others' ideas. Users voted on individual recommendations with an up or down vote for each suggestion.
The web function was developed for the Obama transition team by the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based company called Reside, and utilizes technology from Salesforce.com. Co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Team, Valerie Jarret, stated: "The Citizen's Briefing Book will come directly from the American people. It is yet another way that we will ensure that this transition is the most open and transparent one in history." Members of Obama's transition team interacted with users and responded to the voting. Beth Noveck, a law professor at NYU Law School and a member of the Obama Administration's "Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Team", stated that the book would help the government "get the best ideas for the beginning of the administration".
Top recommendations
Other popular ideas included legalizing online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
in the United States, and focusing on green initiatives. One post suggested the administration investigate UFOs
UFO conspiracy theory
A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed by various governments around the world...
, and another suggested Obama hire entertainment personalities including Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
, Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
, and Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
. After voting had closed, the most popular suggestion with 92,000 votes was "Ending marijuana prohibition", and the third most popular: "Stop using federal resources to undermine states' medicinal marijuana laws." A representative for President Obama, Jen Psaki, told Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
: "President Obama does not support the legalization of marijuana."
Release
The Obama Administration released the Citizen's Briefing Book to the public on May 11, 2009, the same day that President Obama announced the renaming of the White House Office of Public Liaison to the Office of Public Engagement. "Many of the ideas you offer, from improving light rail transit to modernizing our energy grid to creating a new service corps, have been embraced by my administration," said President Obama in a video released along with the briefing book.Reception
Writing for the Christian Science Monitor, David Peck described the initiative as part of "a good foundation" of reaching out to individuals. Douglas MacMillan of Business Week noted that the Obama transition site Change.gov "won praise for its clean look and Citizen's Briefing Book feature". Joel Hood of the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
highlighted some of the more eccentric suggestions posted, commenting: "As if President Barack Obama doesn't have enough on his plate, he's about to hear the voice of the people, in all its eccentric glory."
Morton Marcus commented in the Indianapolis Business Journal
Indianapolis Business Journal
Indianapolis Business Journal is a weekly newspaper published in Indianapolis which reports on Central Indiana business. It is the leading publication of IBJ Media. Its economic columnists include Morton Marcus and Michael J. Hicks.- External links :*...
: "I see the virtue of being open to the public’s concern. I cannot imagine that the president will give attention to issues based on their popularity." In noting that the first and third-most popular items voted upon involved the legalization of marijuana, Andy Sullivan of Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
commented on President Obama's efforts to solicit opinions from citizens on legislation: "That approach can deliver unexpected results."
External links
- Wrapping up the Citizen’s Briefing Book, Change.gov