Politics in the cyber age

That the Internet is changing how politicians campaign in America is beyond question. But the time when the computer does more than embarrass or destroy a candidate who has done something outrageous appears to still lie in the future.

In 2006, the Internet has become an effective weapon. It has not yet become an effective tool.

Still, that potential for widespread embarrassment makes the 2006 campaign a watershed. And that appears to be due to one Web site alone, YouTube. The site, which allows people to share amateur videos, flexed big muscles this fall.

In Utah, it spawned a campaign to unseat 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis, who can be seen and heard on YouTube scolding a deer hunter who was not on trial in her court, and sending him to a holding cell. It remains to be seen whether this video, which spawned subsequent news stories about other complaints against the judge, will result in her losing a retention vote on Tuesday.

On a larger scale, a YouTube video caught incumbent Virginia Sen. George Allen calling someone from his opponent's campaign "macaca," which some consider a racial epithet. That piece of video changed the focus of Allen's re-election race. If he loses on Tuesday, it also likely will have ended Allen's presidential aspirations. It may even be pivotal in deciding whether Democrats gain control of the Senate.

But these videos became powerful weapons because they were widely publicized, and because they are embarrassing. One recent poll found that just under half of all likely voters this year use the Internet to get political information. A much smaller percentage go to candidate Web sites. Many candidates today also have Web logs, or blogs, which act as a type of daily journal of thoughts and ideas. Others have begun podcasting, which is a way to record audio for downloading.

These appear to be essential tools for connecting with college students or other young voters who are Internet savvy, but the number of people who regularly read blogs or hear podcasts remains small. Meanwhile, the vast population of people over a certain age are completely oblivious to these trends.

In 2006, there still is no substitute for old-fashioned campaigning, including hand shakes, door-to-door visits and traditional political ads. We suspect nothing ever will substitute for the personal touch of human contact. But only a fool would ignore the signs that the relationship between the Internet and politics is maturing and gaining clout.