The 2004 US Presidential election will probably go down in history as "the internet election". Each of the candidates is using the internet in some way. Through the use of this technology in their campaigns, each of these candidates is likely to understand that the internet is important. Some of them will understand why it is important. Even if they don't, they each already know that the internet means a lot of campaign contributions and a lot of votes. Its no secret to these hopefuls that the internet has the power to make or break these candidates.
And while this is the first time that I've seriously brought up politics on this blog, none of this is news to anyone. What is important about this dynamic is what it means for the DNS.
Verisign is the George Bush of the internet. Unelected, unaccountable and endangering everything that we've done over the last twenty years to make the world a smaller, friendlier place.
Getting rid of Bush is straightforward - simply put a Democrat in the Whitehouse. But what people don't realize is that voting out Bush could have the effect of getting rid of Verisign.
New faces in the White House means new faces in the Department of Commerce. A new government, a new cabinet, means a different way of doing things. A President elected by the internet might figure out that what's good for the internet is good for his administration. A President that gets the internet might figure out that the economic compulsion of a state sanctioned monopoly may not have the best interests of the internet at heart.
This President might save us from Verisign.
I urge each of you that has a vote in this election to make this an issue with your candidate. It is clear to the internet community that Verisign is not an appropriate caretaker of the resource that we have entrusted them with. The time has come for a new custodian to be brought forward and operate our namespace in a manner that serves our interest, not solely theirs.