A candidate with "a firm understanding of the Internet's impact" understands by definition what is necessary. Of course, I don't see that practically occurring in this day and age, and would certainly begrudge my candidate a bit if they lacked their own knowledge.

But you know this isn't just a McCain thing. Ralph Nader still uses a typewriter.

You know this poll has a built in bias. ITS AN ONLINE POLL!

I am also certain four out of five persons responding, are under the age of 25 and are unaware of how an off the internet organization functions.
Even today, there are many people who use text messaging and cellphones instead of the internet.

It would be interesting how people here on TechPresident would function for a week if they were denied access tot he internet. How would they connect with the world?

In regards to McCain, saying he is "illiterate" about computers may be more politics than we realize. Many older voters, who are more likely to show up, consider themselves computer illiterate.

Just to lay all the cards on the table, before anyone asks "Who the heck is this person and how do they quailfy themselves? - I am a 41-year-old professor of management information systems with a BSc and an MS in Computer Science and currently pursuing my PhD in MIS. I encourage my students to consider the full impact of technology, good and bad. I'm not saying I have all the answers but let's at least ask all the questions?

Aren't we assuming that just because Sen. Obama is younger he has a better grasp of technology and that he obtained that grasp all on his own? He's got great people around him to do that for him. Anybody can sound intelligent and well-informed after reading a report which has been prepared for them by an expert (Helllooo- speechwriters)

Comparing understanding the internet to being able to defeat terrorists? Come on. A bit simplistic don't you think?

But if you want to simplify - then let's really simplify:
To my understanding, the Internet is an INTERconnectnedness of NETworks, so really he must have first hand knowledge of a network and how to run cable. The basics of networks are interconnected computers so he must know how to configure a network too, eh? Then, while we're at it, he may as well have first hand experience programming, doing hardware repairs and sautering motherboards.

Okay....so the connectedness of a POTUS is that important? How about being connected to real life and real life issues? Priorities seem to be a bit skewed, but this is the JUST the techpresident site isn't it? I guess that's why there aren't any other opinions expressed here. Too bad. Otherwise there might be some real well-rounded discussions here on a daily basis. Usually even on a one subject dedicated site, other opinions, realities, and views are accepted, considered, and even valued.

But I digress....

That Sen. Obama (and Sen. Edwards according to Ms. Russo), have a FIRM understanding of the Internet's impact and that they both use that knowledge everyday to lead their states? Yeah, right.
Ever heard of security risks, hackers, viruses? (Ms. Russo, If Sen. Edwards has such a firm understanding of internet issues, why did he need to hire you?)

I doubt Sen. Obama is leading anything on a day-to-day basis for his state right now even with the much-vaunted internet connectivity. I'm sure with the non-stop personal campaigning and developing of his personal positions (of course he's got a FIRM understanding of both of these - Rev. Wright are you still there?) he has a firm grasp on what is happening in the campaign and where he'll be going strategically next week...again, yeah, right.

Our society today is one of immediate gratification and wanting to have perfect people holding high political positions that will do the right thing, right now. Most of us have trouble leading our own livesand relationships, let alone having a FIRM understanding of politics and how government works. The American divorce rate has been very high and mostly occurs in the early years of the marriage when reality sets in.

We are still in the courting phase folks, it may seem like we've committed and accepted the promise of engagement (The official date of acceptance is, of course, November 4th, 2008), with the ceremony to occur the following January.

Thereafter follows, hopefully, a first 100 days honeymoon.
Then the real nitty-gritty begins. Will a divorce of the election-induced euphoria happen or will we try to work it out? Only thing to remember - we're locked in for four years, no quickie out-of-country divorces available.

If the bad feelings begin, do we not realize that this all-powerful force (the Internet) we are buying into can tear down just as quickly as it can build up.

The Internet/email/Google are fine for the "haves" to build their ego and FIRM understanding of the world upon, the "have-nots" are still looking at you like you've gotten a lobotomy. We know that there is life outside the internet and that having an understanding of it may help, but it does nothing for leading a farm or a small town.

Also bear in mind that the population is growing older, not younger. Does Sen. Obama have a FIRM understanding and personal hands-on experience of how social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Disability work? Not from what I read and understand. He has served on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for a year. Wow.

To be fair - those who have served in Congress will most likely not have personal experience with this either- their golden years will be very comfortable I'm sure. His contemporaries do have the age/wisdom/ experience advantage though. The median age in Congress right now is 60, but Even if a substantial number of incumbents are beaten, you're only going to see this median age drop ever so slightly.

According to the group-think expressed here, he needs a "working hands-on" knowledge of Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid/ Disability SSDI) in order to lead this country correct? This country and its people grow older everyday. This is may not be a global issue, but it is an issue here at home and, I imagine, around the world as well.

So I say again: Okay....so the connectedness of a POTUS is that important? How about being connected to real life and real life issues? Priorities seem to be a bit skewed, but this is the JUST the techpresident site isn't it? I guess that's why there aren't any other opinions expressed here. Too bad. Otherwise there might be some real well-rounded discussions here on a daily basis. Usually even on a one subject dedicated site, other opinions, realities, and views are accepted, considered, and even valued.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
It's the HUMAN-CONNECTEDNESS, not the technology connectedness that will power any change, the technology helps but the people pdirect it. Technology is the tool, not the answer.

Does anyone still understand the value of face-to-face
"technology" - it's an oldie, but a goodie.

No one here, at a site called techPresident and frequented by techies, should be surprised to see that the vote is 60 percent in favor of a president needing "to have firsthand experience with the Internet in order to lead." Now step out of your bubble and commission this poll in the heartland. I'm sure the result would be quite different.

Ask this question on a site called farmPresident, and I'm sure 60 percent would say the next president needs to have firsthand experience in agriculture to lead the country, too. You'd get similar results at factoryPresident, retailPresident, bankPresident, lawPresident, WallStreetPresident, etc.

Everyone thinks his or her corner of the world is more important than the next guy's. That doesn't make it so. A good president actually needs a basic understanding of just about everything in the economy and the world -- and a whole roster of advisers who can fill in the gaps.

I picked option No. 2 in this poll, though in reality my personal view falls somewhere between No. 2 and No. 3. For more of my thoughts on this debate, click on over to my post at The Next Right and subsequent elaboration in the comments.

EyeblastTV (Danny Glover) makes a fair point: people who read techPresident aren't a representative sample of the population. And we're not suggesting that this simple internet poll is scientific. We put it up to help continue and perhaps crystallize the debate over how much it matters that the next President "get it."

But Danny is stretching things by comparing this discussion to one that farmers might have, or retailers, etc, about how important their arena might be for the next President to understand. Is agriculture undergoing a radical transformation that affects the rest of society? Are there dramatic changes happening in retail? Well, one could argue that biotech and global warming ARE indeed affecting agriculture, with deep societal impacts. And one could argue that the retail industry is facing jarring changes, driven by the internet in fact. But these sectors of the economy, and others like banking, law, manufacturing, etc, aren't in and of themselves producing society-changing effects on the scale of the internet. If anything, it's the other way around, the internet is also transforming these sectors of the economy.

As my colleague Andrew Rasiej likes to say, "technology isn't another piece of the pie, it's the pan." And what we're arguing here is that the changes being fostered by new technologies of communication and sharing ARE producing changes on the scale of the invention of the printing press.

Mike Turk makes a bunch of great points on this question over at The Next Right, commenting on Danny's post:

The Internet is a major driver of the US economy. Jobs being added, directly and indirectly, due to expansion of telecom services and broadband are a large percentage of net new jobs added in the last 7 years. That's a major piece of the US economy directly tied to the Internet.

Yet your argument is it's just a communications tool, so he doesn't have to get it.

If your understanding of manufacturing was so fundamentally flawed that you didn't know the difference between auto manufacturers and appliance manufacturers, that would be a problem. Yet we are willing to write off ignorance of a vast section of the economy and the players that operate in that space as a quirk of age or of "not using the product."

There is no way his political advisors would allow him to go out there and talk about Maytag and Ford in the same sentence if he didn't fudamentally understand the difference between the two. For that matter, they wouldn't let him confuse ABC, NBC and CBS (other communications vehicles). But forgiving his ignorance of major players in the Internet space is ok?

The techPresident poll, and this entire debate, is premised on the belief that the next president needs to know how to use the Internet, and to in fact use it regularly, in order to lead the country and the world. It doesn't ask whether a president needs to understand how the Internet is transforming the economy and the world. Those are two different questions, two different polls.

Ask the latter question and I'll answer differently than I did in this poorly phrased poll.

The question posed by the poll is whether or not a president of the United States needs to personally know how to use the Internet in order to lead in 2008, and the second option clearly offers the take on the topic that you seem to be interested in. In response to the question "Does an American president today need to personally understand how to use email, search engines, and other basic online tools and platforms in order to be an effective leader?" it reads "No, not as long as a POTUS has a firm understanding of the Internet's impact." Far from resting this exercise on that assumption that a president does need first-hand experience with all things online, that's the very question being polled and debated.