Great Idea! Very Democracy!

A press release I just received from the White House Office of Communications:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                September 1, 2011

White House Announces We the People
New Online Engagement Feature Invites Public To Petition The White House

Today, the White House announced We the People, a new online engagement feature. On this innovative WhiteHouse.gov platform, individuals will be able to create and sign petitions seeking action from the federal government on a range of issues. If a petition gathers enough signatures, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.

Visitors to WhiteHouse.gov can begin submitting petitions later this month. To sign up for an alert when it launches and preview the feature, visit http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/WeThePeople.

"When I ran for this office, I pledged to make government more open and accountable to its citizens. That's what the new We the People feature on WhiteHouse.gov is all about – giving Americans a direct line to the White House on the issues and concerns that matter most to them," said President Obama.

To create and build support for a petition, WhiteHouse.gov visitors will simply need to create an account and gather signatures by reaching out to friends, family and coworkers. If a petition reaches a certain threshold – the initial level will be 5,000 signatures within 30 days – it will be sent to the appropriate policy makers throughout the Administration, reviewed, and an official response will be published to WhiteHouse.gov and emailed to all signers of the petition.

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This definitely won't be used by conservatives to make the president look like an asshole. Can't wait for the White House's "official response" to the Send the Statue of Liberty Back to France! petition.

Btw, in terms of making the government "more open and accountable to its citizens," maybe this would be a better place to start.

Of course, that might entail government actually being accountable to its citizens, as opposed to quashing any chrysaline thoughts of rebellion with a cartoon website that cynically propadandizes the thin illusion of a still-functional democracy.