Let's take a bite at one of the bigger questions floating around the technology and politics world at the moment. The subject: the future of the Republican Party. Does the redemption of the GOP rest with mastering the field, communications, and fundraising technologies that Barack Obama used to good effect in his presidential win? Or do conservatives need to take this moment, when they control not one of the branches of government, to re-figure out just what it is the party stands for, what political need it fills in the hearts and minds of American voters? The real answer, of course, isn't one or the other -- not wholeheartedly, at least. But implicit in the question is a compelling debate over just what technology is good for when it comes to politics, from winning elections to governing in a way that gives you a shot at getting re-elected.

The half dozen contenders for the post of RNC chairman gathered yesterday for an event that was threaded through with what might fairly be called an obsession with technology...When we discussed a report in the New York Times yesterday that Barack Obama would finally (cue whiny voice) be naming a Chief Technology Officer this Wednesday, we commented, "we'll see." Well, looks like we won't...The Obama transition has gone down a somewhat different road than Bill Clinton in revealing its donors -- though, of course, the motivations and expectations are entirely different...and more.

The conservative online hub Red State has issued a call for the men and women eager to be the next head of the Republican National Convention to come to the site to lay out their vision of the way ahead, including "expanding the GOP's use of technology in the future and...the online apparatus of the RNC"...From Pearl Jam to SEIU to the ACLU, a coalition of progressive voices have gathered to urge President-elect Obama to put the Internet at center stage when he makes his picks for some of the biggest unfilled slots in his administration...The Internet can be friend and foe, as Team Obama is finding out, notes former Hillary Clinton staffer Peter Daou...and more.

That the Obama campaign has a meticulously-gathered collection of data on our shoe sizes and coffee preferences stored in some pulsating brain deep below Chicago should, writes New York Law School's James Grimmelmann in the New Republic, raise concerns...McClatchy's Frank Greve casts a healthily skeptical eye on what, beyond the jittery excitement, Change.gov truly amounts to. Former PdF keynoter and author Clay Shirky is notably enthusiastic, branding the transition site "obviously fantastic." But you can't help but keep from going all-in on when you hear things like what Greve got from Obama press aide Jen Psaki...Long-time activist on the left Bob Fertik, perhaps best known as the force behind Democrats.org, says the questions bubbling up on Change.gov's Open for Questions forum show that Americans haven't joined the media in the trap of obsessing over a scheming and bumbling floppy-haired Illinois governor whose name no one could pronounce last week...and more.

Small Donations, Mid-Sized Donors, and Obama's Cash "Revolution;" "There's Still a Big Hole in Our Game Plan...;" Keeping Up the Democratic Web; Kossacks Take to Congress; Open-Source Obama; and much more.

One of the more fascinating aspects of the presidential campaign has been the proliferation of email smears against Barack Obama, and his campaign's efforts to fight back. Back in July, such an email dropped into my inbox, which claimed to be a reprint of a New York Times column by Maureen Dowd. A complete fabrication quickly debunked, the column claimed that contributions to the Obama campaign originated illegally from the Middle East and China. Now comes news that the RNC will file a complaint against the Obama campaign for the possibility of accepting illegal foreign donations.

Reactions to McCain's speech, Palin's speech spurs major fundraising haul... for Democrats, insightful RNC reporting by Twitter, and John McCain's Green Screen goof,

Ron Paul supporters gathered in droves in Minneapolis yesterday just 10 miles across the Mississippi River from where the official Republican National Convention is taking place. The occasion? A highly-charged "Rally for the Republic" meant to send a clear message to the Republican establishment assembled in the Twin Cities this week. Now, the Texas congressman might be best known to us for developing a devoted digital following. But wandering through the Target Center last night it was difficult to doubt Paul's ability to rally the masses off the Interwebs.

Obama asks for Gustav help via text message, the RNC gets started, Twitter at the DNC, Palin uses eBay, Alaska's blogging industry, and Palin's e-family drama

John McCain finally turns to his Senate record defend against attacks on his tech cred; we consider whether MoveOn is a movement or a marketing machine; the newest stars of YouTube seem to be the guys and gals (well, guys, at least) running the presidential campaigns behind the scenes; and an overflowing bucket of other stuff.