By KENNETH P. VOGEL
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In the five weeks since Election Day, Obama's once-cohesive Web presence has fragmented into a jumble of sometimes disparate-feeling fundraising pitches, YouTube videos and calls for activism spread across three websites.
Photo: AP
Want a sleek Obama '08 coffee mug, a four-year calendar with pictures of Barack Obama on the campaign trail, or a blue T-shirt with "Change Can Happen" emblazoned under stylized photos of the incoming president and vice president?
You’ll have to hurry. But they all can be yours for the holidays, if you go to Obama's campaign website and donate $15, $35 or $30 to the Democratic National Committee.
So said a trio of e-mails sent since Obama's historic victory last month to the 13 million or so folks on his unprecedented campaign e-mail list, which has also been used to raise cash for Obama's non-profit presidential transition group and former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's insolvent presidential campaign.
But the flurry of fundraising e-mails has some subscribers pleading for a break from the solicitations and has raised questions about whether Obama has figured out how to harness the power of his online network once in the White House.
In the five weeks since Election Day, Obama's once-cohesive Web presence has fragmented into a jumble of sometimes disparate-feeling fundraising pitches, YouTube videos and calls for activism spread across three websites.
E-mails to the list of supporters have generated contributions to help victims of the California wildfires, invited questions for the transition team, prompted 500,000 responses to a survey about what Obama backers would like to do next and helped gin up thousands of house parties across the country last weekend, at which Obama supporters deliberated on how to maintain the campaign's grass-roots energy once he’s inaugurated.
And, of course, there are the fashion and novelty sale items — including the Obama fleece scarf being hawked this week with a deadline duly noted to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.
"So far, there's been an aimless wander" quality to Obama's approach, said Kevin Thurman, who helped direct Web operations for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaigns of then-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator whom Obama has tapped as his secretary of state.
"We've gone from a survey to selling holiday mugs that don't have a lot of holiday to four-year calendars — it looks like left-over inventory," Thurman added.
There are some tricky legal questions about what Obama can do with his e-mail list after he’s sworn in as president and those behind his Web juggernaut concede they're still formulating just how Obama will use the Internet from the White House. So far, though, they have remained tight-lipped about their plans.
They declined to comment for this story. But during a panel discussion this month, Obama's Internet director, Joe Rospars, predicted his boss's official online communications would become "more systematized once in government."
He explained "the challenge with the government stuff — and you're seeing this with the transition — is different than the challenge with the campaign obviously, and that's because the relationship is different.”
In the campaign, he said, “We had a relationship between Barack Obama and a whole lot of people who supported him and his policies and his ideas and his vision for the country. When he becomes president, he needs to be president of all the people."
The presidential transition team's website, change.gov, he said, focuses "more on transparency and accessibility and service and these kinds of things, rather than implementing a legislative agenda and sort of having a political organization."
He deflected questions about specific plans, particularly about what Obama's continued online political presence would look like, explaining the "political mobilization stuff is a little bit of another question."
There is some early evidence, perhaps predictably, of donor fatigue.
In the 18 days after the election, Obama's campaign reported receiving $1.2 million from 4,200 itemized contributions, while the DNC pulled in $1.7 million from 3,100 itemized donations — both trickles, compared with the flood-like velocity of campaign fundraising. Obama was raising a minimum of $1 million a day at the close of the campaign.
E-mails to the list of supporters have generated contributions to help victims of the California wildfires, invited questions for the transition team, prompted 500,000 responses to a survey about what Obama backers would like to do next and helped gin up thousands of house parties across the country last weekend, at which Obama supporters deliberated on how to maintain the campaign's grass-roots energy once he’s inaugurated.
And, of course, there are the fashion and novelty sale items — including the Obama fleece scarf being hawked this week with a deadline duly noted to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.
"So far, there's been an aimless wander" quality to Obama's approach, said Kevin Thurman, who helped direct Web operations for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaigns of then-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator whom Obama has tapped as his secretary of state.
"We've gone from a survey to selling holiday mugs that don't have a lot of holiday to four-year calendars — it looks like left-over inventory," Thurman added.
There are some tricky legal questions about what Obama can do with his e-mail list after he’s sworn in as president and those behind his Web juggernaut concede they're still formulating just how Obama will use the Internet from the White House. So far, though, they have remained tight-lipped about their plans.
They declined to comment for this story. But during a panel discussion this month, Obama's Internet director, Joe Rospars, predicted his boss's official online communications would become "more systematized once in government."
He explained "the challenge with the government stuff — and you're seeing this with the transition — is different than the challenge with the campaign obviously, and that's because the relationship is different.”
In the campaign, he said, “We had a relationship between Barack Obama and a whole lot of people who supported him and his policies and his ideas and his vision for the country. When he becomes president, he needs to be president of all the people."
The presidential transition team's website, change.gov, he said, focuses "more on transparency and accessibility and service and these kinds of things, rather than implementing a legislative agenda and sort of having a political organization."
He deflected questions about specific plans, particularly about what Obama's continued online political presence would look like, explaining the "political mobilization stuff is a little bit of another question."
There is some early evidence, perhaps predictably, of donor fatigue.
In the 18 days after the election, Obama's campaign reported receiving $1.2 million from 4,200 itemized contributions, while the DNC pulled in $1.7 million from 3,100 itemized donations — both trickles, compared with the flood-like velocity of campaign fundraising. Obama was raising a minimum of $1 million a day at the close of the campaign.
Want a sleek Obama '08 coffee mug, a four-year calendar with pictures of Barack Obama on the campaign trail, or a blue T-shirt with "Change Can Happen" emblazoned under stylized photos of the incoming president and vice president?
You’ll have to hurry. But they all can be yours for the holidays, if you go to Obama's campaign website and donate $15, $35 or $30 to the Democratic National Committee.
So said a trio of e-mails sent since Obama's historic victory last month to the 13 million or so folks on his unprecedented campaign e-mail list, which has also been used to raise cash for Obama's non-profit presidential transition group and former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's insolvent presidential campaign.
But the flurry of fundraising e-mails has some subscribers pleading for a break from the solicitations and has raised questions about whether Obama has figured out how to harness the power of his online network once in the White House.
In the five weeks since Election Day, Obama's once-cohesive Web presence has fragmented into a jumble of sometimes disparate-feeling fundraising pitches, YouTube videos and calls for activism spread across three websites.
E-mails to the list of supporters have generated contributions to help victims of the California wildfires, invited questions for the transition team, prompted 500,000 responses to a survey about what Obama backers would like to do next and helped gin up thousands of house parties across the country last weekend, at which Obama supporters deliberated on how to maintain the campaign's grass-roots energy once he’s inaugurated.
And, of course, there are the fashion and novelty sale items — including the Obama fleece scarf being hawked this week with a deadline duly noted to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.
"So far, there's been an aimless wander" quality to Obama's approach, said Kevin Thurman, who helped direct Web operations for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaigns of then-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator whom Obama has tapped as his secretary of state.
"We've gone from a survey to selling holiday mugs that don't have a lot of holiday to four-year calendars — it looks like left-over inventory," Thurman added.
There are some tricky legal questions about what Obama can do with his e-mail list after he’s sworn in as president and those behind his Web juggernaut concede they're still formulating just how Obama will use the Internet from the White House. So far, though, they have remained tight-lipped about their plans.
They declined to comment for this story. But during a panel discussion this month, Obama's Internet director, Joe Rospars, predicted his boss's official online communications would become "more systematized once in government."
He explained "the challenge with the government stuff — and you're seeing this with the transition — is different than the challenge with the campaign obviously, and that's because the relationship is different.”
In the campaign, he said, “We had a relationship between Barack Obama and a whole lot of people who supported him and his policies and his ideas and his vision for the country. When he becomes president, he needs to be president of all the people."
The presidential transition team's website, change.gov, he said, focuses "more on transparency and accessibility and service and these kinds of things, rather than implementing a legislative agenda and sort of having a political organization."
He deflected questions about specific plans, particularly about what Obama's continued online political presence would look like, explaining the "political mobilization stuff is a little bit of another question."
There is some early evidence, perhaps predictably, of donor fatigue.
In the 18 days after the election, Obama's campaign reported receiving $1.2 million from 4,200 itemized contributions, while the DNC pulled in $1.7 million from 3,100 itemized donations — both trickles, compared with the flood-like velocity of campaign fundraising. Obama was raising a minimum of $1 million a day at the close of the campaign.
E-mails to the list of supporters have generated contributions to help victims of the California wildfires, invited questions for the transition team, prompted 500,000 responses to a survey about what Obama backers would like to do next and helped gin up thousands of house parties across the country last weekend, at which Obama supporters deliberated on how to maintain the campaign's grass-roots energy once he’s inaugurated.
And, of course, there are the fashion and novelty sale items — including the Obama fleece scarf being hawked this week with a deadline duly noted to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.
"So far, there's been an aimless wander" quality to Obama's approach, said Kevin Thurman, who helped direct Web operations for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaigns of then-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator whom Obama has tapped as his secretary of state.
"We've gone from a survey to selling holiday mugs that don't have a lot of holiday to four-year calendars — it looks like left-over inventory," Thurman added.
There are some tricky legal questions about what Obama can do with his e-mail list after he’s sworn in as president and those behind his Web juggernaut concede they're still formulating just how Obama will use the Internet from the White House. So far, though, they have remained tight-lipped about their plans.
They declined to comment for this story. But during a panel discussion this month, Obama's Internet director, Joe Rospars, predicted his boss's official online communications would become "more systematized once in government."
He explained "the challenge with the government stuff — and you're seeing this with the transition — is different than the challenge with the campaign obviously, and that's because the relationship is different.”
In the campaign, he said, “We had a relationship between Barack Obama and a whole lot of people who supported him and his policies and his ideas and his vision for the country. When he becomes president, he needs to be president of all the people."
The presidential transition team's website, change.gov, he said, focuses "more on transparency and accessibility and service and these kinds of things, rather than implementing a legislative agenda and sort of having a political organization."
He deflected questions about specific plans, particularly about what Obama's continued online political presence would look like, explaining the "political mobilization stuff is a little bit of another question."
There is some early evidence, perhaps predictably, of donor fatigue.
In the 18 days after the election, Obama's campaign reported receiving $1.2 million from 4,200 itemized contributions, while the DNC pulled in $1.7 million from 3,100 itemized donations — both trickles, compared with the flood-like velocity of campaign fundraising. Obama was raising a minimum of $1 million a day at the close of the campaign.
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