By ignoring tech in the campaign, both candidates squander big opportunity

[Commentary] Silicon Valley has served as a huge source of cash for both presidential candidates -- but not as much of a source of ideas for their campaigns. That means both men are missing the chance to use technology to paint an optimistic, big-picture vision of where they want to take the country.

Roosevelt had the New Deal; Reagan had "morning in America." Obama and Romney have what, exactly? "It really should be a part of the national discussion because it's so much a part of the national economy," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto. "There are extraordinary opportunities ahead. I'm disappointed that there's not, out of either camp, the kind of discussion of technology issues that are so important to this country.” Both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have tech-related positions in their platforms. And I wouldn't expect either candidate to be spending time on the stump talking about patent reform or spectrum licensing, topics vital to Silicon Valley that put the rest of the country into a coma. But what happened to the tech-savvy Obama of 2008 (remember his BlackBerry)? And while Romney's campaign is far more adept at technology than Sen. John McCain's, he also hasn't made technology issues a centerpiece.