Obama policymakers turn to campaign tools: Supporters tapped on healthcare issues

Barack Obama's incoming administration has begun to draw on the high-tech organizational tools that helped get him elected to lay the groundwork for an attempt to restructure the U.S. healthcare system. Thomas A. Daschle, Obama's point person on healthcare, launched an effort to create political momentum in a conference call with 1,000 invited supporters culled from 10,000 who had expressed interest in health issues, promising it would be the first of many opportunities for Americans to weigh in. The healthcare mobilization will also include online videos, blogs, and e-mail alerts as well as traditional public forums.