Michelle Malkin » Document drop: The story behind Change.gov

Document drop: The story behind Change.gov

By Michelle Malkin • December 20, 2008 09:52 AM

I’ve obtained documents sent to a reader in response to his FOIA request regarding the creation of Barack Obama’s Change.gov website. It gives you the rest of the story. You’ll recall last month that I blogged several questions about the propriety of allowing the perpetual Obama campaign to use a .gov domain name for what appeared to be a fund-raising front. Readers and industry observers noted that the decision appeared to violate General Services Administration rules governing government domains.

Guess what? They were right. The FOIA documents sent to Lance O., which he forwarded to me, reveal that the GSA initially rejected Obama’s application for “Change.gov.” On Oct. 21, Peter Alterman, Deputy Associate Administrator of Technology Strategy at the GSA, denied the Obama campaign’s request for a government domain because:

1) It would be a a violation of the government’s naming conventions (too generic); and

2) using ‘change’ in the domain name would be political, since it was the trademark slogan of the Obama campaign.

The day after the election, on Nov. 5, GSA Chief Information Officer Casey Coleman overruled Alterman after apparently receiving a waiver from Chris Lu, Executive Director of Obama’s Transition Project. As reader Lance discovered through his FOIA request, Ms. Coleman did not elaborate on the granting of this waiver except to say that she had “determined that it is in the best interest of the Federal Government to register the subject domain name.”

As another GSA official who facilitated the convenient change in policy regarding change.gov exulted to the Obama campaign after the domain was granted, “Rock and roll!”

Thanks to reader Lance for filing the FOIA request and giving us a peek into the GSA bureaucracy for change.

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Here’s the initial denial:

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Here’s Obama transition director Chris Lu’s waiver request:

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Here’s GSA internal email discussing the decision to proceed with the domain main conferral. And yes, that does say “Rock and roll!:”

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Here’s the notice of an official GSA point of contact being assigned to the domain on Nov. 5 and a determination that it’s in the “best interest of the federal government” to register change.gov:

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And here are internal notes and public feedback records by GSA showing the change in policy and attitude:

From a concerned citizen, who wrote GSA:

Yes, apparently he was mistaken. The strict rules do not apply when you invoke CHANGE.

And now you know…the rest of the story.

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Posted in: Barack Obama

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#101

On December 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 am, LC said:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
#102

On December 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

At least for the first inauguration they will not use “So Help Me Allah“.
#103

On December 22nd, 2008 at 9:34 am, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

Repeal of the 22nd Amendment may get the required supermajorities in Congress, but would not pass enough states. In a fair election, anyway. And there are still some decent states left like Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, Utah, many of the Southern states, that moderate scale fraud may not be enough.

But if Obama does make the election system ACORN/Fraud friendly, easily done with natiownide same day registration and voting, preferably without picture ID, while he may not be legally able to serve a third term, his chosen successor, perhaps Michelle the Angry, could continue two more terms of a different President Obama.
#104

On December 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 am, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

BTW, we are about to begin One Party rule by a party that pays more fealty to Karl Marx than the US Constitution.

The ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats include Loretta Sanchez, and aren’t really moderates, they only play them on TV because they don’t come from districts like Berkeley, Oakland, Austin, San Francisco, Madison or Brookline, MA and toeing the Marxist party line publically could lose them elections. The whip will let them know which ones can afford to “oppose” Obama’s budget busting and pr-abortion and gay rights measures while the legislation still passes.

And with the fillibuster margin down to 1 now that Weird Al Franken has stolen the Minnesota seat, and several Republican-Lites and outright RINOs like McCain, Specter, the two gals from Maine, don’t expect many, or maybe even any, successful filibusters.
#105

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 am, runningonfumes2 said:

And with the fillibuster margin down to 1 now that Weird Al Franken has stolen the Minnesota seat, and several Republican-Lites and outright RINOs like McCain, Specter, the two gals from Maine, don’t expect many, or maybe even any, successful filibusters.

Very good (dismal) analysis.
#106

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 am, tiredofit08 said:

If the status has changed from a political campaign to a federal program, what is the name of the new federal program?

CHANGE=

Come
Help
A
Nobody
Elitist
#107

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:12 am, Salt said:

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 am, tiredofit08 said:

CHANGE=

Come
Help
A
Nobody
Elitist

What happened to “G”?
#108

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 am, runningonfumes2 said:

test post.
#109

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 am, Salt said:

On December 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 am, runningonfumes2 said:

test post.

I see your post now, but didn’t before… My post jumped from 103 to #107.

Weird
#110

On December 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm, happyscrapper said:

And with the fillibuster margin down to 1 now that Weird Al Franken has stolen the Minnesota seat,

Since when has Franken won the MN seat? The recount isn’t over. He went temporarily ahead, but there are more to count. Why the assumption that he has won?
#111

On December 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm, Mister P said:

“When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women’s voices in this administration,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.

They had there change with Palin. Screw them.
#112

On December 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 pm, MtsEdge said:

On December 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm, Mister P said:

“When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women’s voices in this administration,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.

They had there change with Palin.

Don’tcha know, the only women who count are those that think like NOW???

/sarc