OK, so now that the campaigning is over perhaps we can return to a world somewhat based on facts and reality.

Despite the accusations that Obama never reached across the aisle, one of his key bipartisan accomplishments during his time in the Senate was the Coburn-Obama Bill to create the Internet Database of Federal Spending. Coburn, of course, is Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a conservative Senator from Oklahoma, one of the reddest of states.

In his press release about the legislation Senator Obama credits the influence of bloggers in getting the bill passed, by quoting Dr. Coburn.

“The group that deserves credit for passing this bill, however, is not Congress, but the army of bloggers and concerned citizens who told Congress that transparency is a just demand for all citizens, not a special privilege for political insiders.”

This use of technology to create more government transparency is one of the elements of Politics 2.0.

It’s not Politics 2.0 just because it’s now available on the web. It’s Politics 2.0 because it’s available to use and to share.

In the analysis of Obama’s victory online organizing gets a lot of credit. Obama’s campaign seems to have substantively understood the power of online social networks. This 21st century method of creating coalitions is just beginning. We’ve just seen that it can make a dramatic difference in national politics. And, I think the victory of Kevin Beckner shows it can have an impact on local races as well.

A few local and national Republicans and Conservatives have been pushing for the RNC to embrace this sort of social networking. Now, with the obvious success of such a strategy, some (like Erick Erickson at RedState) are ramping up their efforts. (See, for example, the manifesto at Rebuild the Party.)

Similarly, Obama has not abandoned the social networking/transparency model that pushed him to victory. His team has already established Change.gov, a page that shares information about the transition and asks for citizen feedback about their vision for the future.

This is good news. The online social networks create a new space for advocates to argue and hone their arguments. More government transparency, whether pushed by conservative politician like Tom Coburn, or liberal politicians like Barack Obama, increases our chance to understand and influence the government.

Local and national online social networks allow us all to understand better what our representatives are doing with their time in office.

Politics 2.0 has been building in United State politics for the last decade, but this year’s presidential campaign demonstrates that it has finally come of age.

Random Articles