Politics, it is said, makes strange bedfellows. If only they had the right spatial data, such fateful peccadillos may not be necessary. Certainly, in today's technologically enlightened society, the breed of politicians we elect should be aware, use, deploy, and revel in the advances made possible by GIS, if not for the decisions that confront them each day, then at least for their own political expedience (read "election").

On Monday, we reported on an application developed by CapitolImpact.com, a startup company in Atlanta, that is promoting a web-based mapping applications for political organizations to "visually showcase" information regarding current legislation. The challenge they face is not so much that the solution is not needed, because it is, but rather that the politicos don't think they have a problem. They don't see that such a simple but elegant mapping tool could easily show them so much more than reams of text-based reports.

Why is this important? Richard Harden, principal of CapitolImpact.com and the former special assistant to the President for Information Management in the Carter administration, says that "if you are able to show political people how they can use the technology for their benefit, they are more likely to allocate more funds for its development." For example, you can use maps to help elected officials understand changes in the demographics of their districts." Therefore, the changing needs of the populace are served more effectively if the information can be presented clearly and an understanding of the spatial relationships discerned.

It is not so much that the functionality is unique, because it is not, but the CustomMapper application, with its well constructed "dashboard" interface, makes it easy to create and publish a map quickly. The available tools are not complicated, and, in fact, the primary advantage of CustomMapper is that it does not confuse the user with functionality unimportant to the essential purpose of data visualization. Wouldn't it be great if this tool could be available to politicians who are currently trying to decide the situation in CapitolImpact.com's own backyard with regard to the redistricting in Fulton County, Georgia? It's a vision thing.