July 6, 2007
Web video new '08 political battlefield
Some of us have gotten so used to our daily fix of Web videos, it's hard to remember that back in 2004, when President Bush spoke of "the Internets," there WAS no YouTube.
Three years later, people are calling this the "YouTube Election" — in which anyone with a minicam or even a mere cell phone can conceivably impact the outcome. <>"Some of the best, the most innovative stuff is gonna come from some voter out there, who changes the entire complexion of the race," says Joe Trippi, former campaign manager for Howard Dean in 2004, now adviser to the John Edwards campaign.
And that's a scary thing for campaigns, which are used to controlling their own message, enforcing it from the top down. On the new playing field, "you lose the ability to manage what you want to say," says Democratic strategist Chris Lehane, a former Clinton White House staffer.
Read full article from the Associated Press, a brief guide to some must-see viewing — some candidate-approved, and some candidate-definitely-did-NOT-approve.
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