President Obama, Lawmakers Log Onto Facebook

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- President Barack Obama is perhaps the most tech-savvy politician in history, but even politicians on the local level are plugging into the world online.

Oklahomans can connect with political leaders like never before, including through Facebook.com.

The online site started among college students and now includes celebrities as well as politicians.

Oklahoma City University students Amanda Lee and Charlie Ludden both have Facebook accounts.

"It's huge on campus," Lee said. "That's how all our events get promoted, that's how we know what's going on."

Facebook is another way President Obama faces the nation. Lee and Ludden are among the millions who signed up to stay connected to the Commander-in-Chief.

"It just shows how much he wants to be in-tune with the people who voted for him now, but you have the future voters," Ludden said.

Oklahoma's State Superintendent Sandy Garrett and Representative Joe Dorman (D-Lawton) can both be found on social networking sites.

"MySpace and Facebook allow you to get a little bit better idea about the person that you're electing," Dorman said.

Mitchell, also a fan of digital devices, said President Obama's use of the social networking sites only helps him and other leaders in the long run.

"I think it makes him more human because he's using the tools that every man can use and every woman can use," Mitchell said.

President Obama has spoken in recent days about transparency, and both Lee and Ludden said they would like to see more policy updates posted online.

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