The White House’s “We the People” app has received mixed reviews since its launch last October.  The Obama administration says it is a way for residents to become engaged at the Federal level – to voice their concerns and to have a real discussion. Critics, however, say that We the People is little more than a feel-good sounding board – not real engagement at all.  An article last month by Joseph Marks takes a look at the administration’s response to these accusations:

Thursday’s response was to a petition snarkily titled Actually Take These Petitions Seriously Instead of Just Using Them as an Excuse to Pretend You Are Listening. It was posted on Oct. 28, 2011, after the first round of White House responses.

The reply from White House Digital Strategy Director Macon Phillips was titled We’re Listening. Seriously. It outlines several situations in which he said officials have learned about new issues or changed course because of a We the People petition.

The U.S. Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, for instance, is developing a proposed rule to further regulate Internet dog breeders in response to a request, he said.

You can read more here.