Online Public Engagement in the Obama Administration: Building a Democracy Bubble?

Following the Bush administration, the Obama team enhanced access for citizens to participatory venues primarily through online mechanisms. Developing such channels gives citizens opportunity to develop their citizenship skills, potentially influence policy, and become more connected to community life. The administration can be applauded for participatory innovations, but needs to proceed strategically to ensure the innovations do not produce more harm than good and to ensure that the real change they are producing is sustainable into the next administration. This article develops the idea of a “democracy bubble” as the intersection of open access to participatory venues and inflated citizen expectations for what the participatory processes can deliver. It develops related ideas of a “democracy crater,” “democracy dropouts,” and “democracy demand.” Three fully online or online‐mediated Obama administration participation initiatives are assessed for their potential to lead to a democracy bubble: the development of Open Government Plans, the Electronic Town Hall meeting, and co‐produced community forums on health care and job creation. A primary finding is that the administration can do a better job establishing and managing expectations for what can be achieved through participation in its various initiatives.