A Wide-Open Web for the '08 Campaign

A WIDE-OPEN WEB FOR THE '08 CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: EJ Dionne Jr]
[Commentary] Does Barack Obama have the potential to trump Hillary Clinton's money, organization and methodical planning by becoming the online phenomenon of 2008? The answer may determine who wins the Democratic presidential nomination. This is the election in which Internet campaigning will reach maturity, touching every part of the overall campaign. Obama faces two obstacles to overwhelming Clinton on the Internet. The first is John Edwards, whose strong stands against the Iraq war and in favor of a broad national health insurance plan have made him popular among the more ideologically committed bloggers and their audiences. Obama and Edwards will be in competition for some of the same online support. The second is the Clinton campaign's awareness that the Internet matters this year as it never has before. In the coming months, partly because it's fun to do, the political world will be watching Hollywood and Wall Street to see who racks up the big money. But 2008 promises to be the year when decisions made at millions of computer screens on kitchen tables and office desks could outshine the glitz and beat out the large checkbooks. The Internet could thus provide Obama his best chance of keeping up with one of the most formidable fundraisers in Democratic politics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/15/AR200702...
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* The messy relationship between bloggers and politicians
Electoral campaigns must recognize that they are not only hiring the writer, but taking on a full body of work.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0216/p09s01-cogn.html