Forum attendees were treated to Washington insights from world-class speakers. On Wednesday, the luncheon keynote was delivered by David Plouffe, who was President Obama's campaign manager. Referring to the Forum attendees as "a roomful of innovators" he shared insights from the unconventional but highly successful grassroots campaign that utilized technology and social media in a way never before seen in a presidential, or any political, race. Correctly assessing that the majority of CEA's member companies are small businesses, Mr. Plouffe encouraged businesses large and small to adopt the use of technology and openness to build consumer confidence. Mr. Plouffe's predictions for both technology and political campaigns in the future focused on the use of mobile devices to get the message out, replacing e-mails, and the importance of "finding people where they are".

On Wednesday evening, the Digital Patriots Dinner was highlighted by the presentation of the Digital Patriot's awards to Representative Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY) for their leadership in advancing technology innovation. Both honorees have been extremely active in promoting the importance of free trade and spoke of working and traveling together to Colombia and Panama to advance the case for passing the trade agreements with those two countries.  Representatives Blunt and Meeks provide a great example of cross-party support for technology, innovation, the DTV transition and international trade.

The long awaited Session - The DTV Transition - The Final Countdown (and this time we really mean it!) was a lively session very ably moderated by the Washington Post's technology blogger Rob Pegoraro. The panel consisted of: Mary Lou Kenny from the NTIA; Bill Lake from the FCC; and CEA's Jason Oxman.  The panel discussed the efforts of the DTV Transition Coalition and the final steps being taken to ensure that all consumers are ready for the digital TV transition on June 12.



Political pundits Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, who appear to be both well-matched rivals, as well as well-respected friends, faced off on everything from the presidential campaign and opinion polls to the use of technology, rounded out the final event of the Forum as Thursday's lunchtime keynotes. Forum attendees clearly enjoyed the razor-sharp political knowledge and unique insights of this pair, along with their equally intelligent humor and good-natured verbal fencing. Carlson and Begala redefined "Washington Insider" for many attendees.


If you missed the conference, or attended and would like to share or revisit any of the sessions, please visit CEA's Multimedia Library to listen or download FREE podcasts.