What Obama can learn from a tweeting Shaquille O'Neal

So the Obama transition team is gaining plenty of praise for putting out a video of ... itself. As one obviously brilliant thinker put it in a comment following a post about this by Politico's Ben Smith: "What makes this transparent? This is a one-way bit of propaganda. It is self-aggrandizing. It is self-conscious. Those Clintons: They are leaving their mark already!"

I have it on good authority that NBA star Shaquille O'Neill's Twitter identity is @THE_REAL_SHAQ. The guy is hilarious. I have watched this guy for almost 20 years, and have always viewed him as smart and authentic and real. [And caring. Read this.] Reading the guy's tweets confirms for me much of this perspective, as his voice is clear and believable.

Note this one from tonight: "Theres a tear in my eye rt now, thinking about the great pete newell. What a tremendous person." Newell was a great college coach who worked with O'Neal at Newell's famous camp. O'Neal also notes that he and his wife recently started a Web site for parents to upload videos of their children's performances to share with family, called Mykidzastar.com; his diet commitment gets a challenge every time he drives by a McDonald's; that he was on Oprah this week; his thoughts about a favorite reporter; and: "At the barber shop, gotta b sexy for the game tomorro. Us supermodels always have to stay fine, lol" 

Ya' gotta love that guy! 

Could Obama do this? Is it even possible? Certainly it is. We have to make it possible. What kind of democracy is this if the president is literally afraid to ... tweet?

The world could listen in. On history. Tell me a better way to build what I say would be an enormous, deep connection with your country and the world. All those Clintonistas the guy is hiring now I am sure are likely steering him away from such ideas. They are perpetuators of the old politics and they are not good for you, Sir. Those who elected you -- and even those who didn't -- want to stay in touch. Listen to us. At your inauguration, hold up that Blackberry, tell the world that email is dead, that you will be tweeting your life for the next four years, and no political opponent needs to spend a dime to sue for your emails, because you won't be sending out any. You will be tweeting, and your tweets are immediately public and accessible and let the world and your opponents and the media and the lawyers make of all that whatever they wish.

The crowd would erupt. The noise would be deafening. The smiles on the faces of your team will be bright. The confusion on the faces of the Clintons and McCains will be entertaining to watch. The world would be stunned.

Shaq the world!

[Thanks for the Shaq tweet @paullyoung.]

Comments

[Pam Broviak]

If the prime minister of England can Twitter, why can't our president? (http://twitter.com/downingstreet) He has almost 6,000 followers, and if you follow him, he follows you back. How cool is that! (Not that I think he is actually reading all our tweets but it is still cool.) Maybe the transition team should take a quick trip across the pond to get some tips on the use of social media in government. Or better yet, set up a Skype conference call.