Do you have an idea for the new president? Now's your chance

While one of the presidential candidates said he relied on others to use the Internet, the other embraced the new technology in fund raising and getting his message out.

We saw the results on Nov. 4.

We've also seen the power of the Internet on the local level, most recently in feedback on actions by the McCook school board. (Videos of the latest meeting were viewed by about 200 people before they and all of the local videos were knocked offline by a software upgrade. We're in the process of returning them to our site.)

The same Internet that connects users to McCook also leads to Washington, and offers the potential for just as big an impact.

President-elect Barack Obama is continuing his Web presence as the clock ticks toward his inauguration, and if his current site, is any indication, the Internet will play a larger role in the new administration than any before.

Log in, and you'll see discussion on Obama's major agenda items such as revitalizing the economy, ending the war in Iraq, providing health care for all, protecting America and renewing American global leadership.

But it's not a one-way street.

Click on any topic and a blue box, labeled "Of the People, By the People" appears, along with the words, "There is no more important resource for changing the direction of this country and defining the ideas that will transform America than the American people." Click on the "submit your ideas" box, and you'll have a chance to send them right to the people who will soon have the power to put some of them into action.

Will it make a difference? Maybe not, but if thousands of us have the same ideas, those ideas would be hard for any politician to ignore.

And, sending an e-mail to the new administration will certainly be more effective than complaining to our coffee buddies.

Our representative government is designed around the concept of making leadership accountable to the citizens. If Washington is truly interested in listening to the will of the people, it's up to all of us to take advantage of this chance to make it known.