My front pocket, though, not my back pocket, because that's where I keep my iPhone. My iPhone that's now like my own red phone (or should we say, blue phone), to Obama HQ. With the campaign's very first iPhone application, Obama '08, I've got super-easy access to campaign information at the tap of a finger.

Released on Sept. 28 but officially launched today, the app has seven main functions: call friends, get involved, receive updates, news, local events, media and issues. Each of these makes participation in the campaign, at increasing levels of engagement, ridiculously easy. Oh yeah, and it's pretty, too.

The highlight of the app is the Call Friends function. Simple enough, it just pulls all the contacts from your address book, lists them in priority order with key battleground states at the top. Designed to encourage you to call your friends in these key states and stump for Obama, it then tracks who you've called and reports the stats (just number of calls) to campaign HQ. There's then a tab to track stats and you can compare the calls you've made to those made by supporters nationwide. As of this moment, there have been 54 calls made. It's stupidly easy and politically smart since we know it's conversations with people they know that is most likely to convince undecideds.

So imagine you're taking a test drive of this app and you decided to call your Aunt Edna in Pennsylvania. What do you do when she asks you what Obama's policy is on education? No need to fumble for words, you can look it up, right from the app. Between the News, Media and Issues functions of this app, you have nearly instant access to all the information you might need to answer the questions that the person on the other end of the line might be asking you. Not to mention, it's great for those impromptu arguments that arise at bus stops and bars -- you can make your case by showing the latest video of Obama talking about the issues.

I hate to be just another techopundit lauding the Obama campaign for its innovative use of technology, but I can't deny I'm impressed with this app.

Check it out yourself: Download the Obama '08 iPhone app (link opens iTunes).