Telecom Doesn't Matter

There are three main issues to this year's Presidential elections: national security; the economy; and energy--the rising price of oil and the rising concerns over carbon. Telecom policy only matters when it touches one of these three issues.

Otherwise, nobody cares.

If you don't believe me, last week's face-off discussing telecom and media policy [1] between McCain and Obama surrogates in Washington D.C. didn't draw a peep from the mainstream press or the blogosphere. This despite ex-FCC chairman Bill Kennard slamming McCain for having no telecom policy and "bullying" government agencies to get his way. Nobody from the McCain office has called to "clarify" anything in the piece, so I suspect they haven't even seen it.

When Obama changes course on wiretapping immunity for phone companies; it is a national security issue, so it is front page news. Retired General Wesley Clark snipes at McCain's qualifications to run for president and it is front page news (Are we sure this just isn't an Army/Navy thing?). An FCC Chairman who sat across from McCain during his tenure on the Senate Commerce Committee calls him out and nobody cares.

Let's face facts: When people go to the polls in November, they're not going to vote for the candidate with the best Net Neutrality policy or the one most committed to the Universal Service Fund. Should they?

- Doug [2]