(From the Open House Project blog)

If you’re like me, you’ll watch this straight through.  Start with “NEW Behind the Scenes Video”, and see if you agree — this is compelling stuff.

I don’t know what it is that makes this so, but even though I’m not a resident of Representative Buck McKeon’s California House District, I can’t look away.

In the video, the Congressman wanders through his office, conducting impromptu unscripted interviews with his staff, soliciting messages for his constituents back home from unprepared staffers, who manage such awkard replies as “uh, Hi!”, or “There’s my desk.”

But that’s what makes this video a sleeper hit in the world of congressional office video.  One might expect to be put off by the video’s awkward moments, where the boss shows up with a new video device and asks for messages for “the folks back home,” but that awkwardness turns out to be a big asset.

As Rep. McKeon and his new media staffer (whose desk we get to see) wander the cubicled workspaces of their coworkers, they manage to portray their office as entirely normal, approachable, and welcoming, in exactly the way that most offices are, whether there’s a view of the US Capitol looming there or not.

If I were one of his constituents, I’d feel quite welcome calling or stopping by the district office.