Obama Speechwriter Posts Photos on Facebook … Groping a Clinton Cutout

Summary:

My thoughts:

National Media exposure clearly was not top of mind when Mr. Favreau chose to post these photos on the Internet. While it remains to be seen whether this gross lapse of judgment will damage his career as White House director of speechwriting, we can be sure this incident will be dredged up at inopportune moments for years to come.

This election season has seen a series of embarrassing online exposures with the McCain camp suffering the two worst high profile incidents. Sarah Palin’s failure to create a strong password, Sarah Palin’s e-mail hacked, and Levi Johnson’s MySpace blog. Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol’s baby-daddy’s MySpace comments include: "I'm a f - - -in' redneck...I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess." "Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," In his profile his status said "in a relationship," but then stated "I DON'T WANT KIDS."

In this young man’s wildest nightmares, I’m sure Johnson never imagined that the MySpace comments of a small town Alaskan teen would land on national news to embarrass himself and the republican candidates for the highest offices in the country.

These incidents drive home the Internet’s impact on information permanence, the importance of protecting privacy, and why avoiding premature posting can save you embarrassing explanations and apologies. There two primary ways we learn lessons – through personal experience or through learning from other’s personal experiences. Think before you click.

Linda