Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address

In case you weren’t one of the 657,000 people who have watched it as of this writing, Barack Obama posted his first post-election YouTube address on Saturday, signaling a new stage in the evolution of presidential communications. The President elect, who plans to give weekly video addresses in parallel to the traditional weekly radio messages, touted a range of plans in his three-and-a-half-minute message (embedded below), most notably his ideas for getting America out of the current recession by rebuilding bridges, schools, and roads, providing affordable health care and high-quality education, and investing in the country’s long-term energy future.

“It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil and saving our planet for our children,” Obama said of his energy plans.

Wade, our resident PhD in the history of technology, notes that Obama isn’t the first politician to use YouTube in such a manner. Hillary Clinton, for one, posted a series of high-quality Internet addresses and other videos during her campaign. Wade also notes (as have others), that there are historical parallels to be made here—starting with FDR’s use of radio, through which he pioneered the “fireside chat” format, which was later copied by Jimmy Carter on TV.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.