The Web was commonly thought to be the modern tool of progressive polticians to reach the young voters. Modern successful candidates would be come more ‘web appealing’ like John Kennedy was the first candidate to use the TV decisively in his famous televised debate with Nixon.

The web offers some distinct advantages I like. You are not restricted to the sound bites allowed before the next TV commercial or radio station break. With Google you can reach just about any subject at any level of depth you want. With YouTube you can get to the source and hear exact words and presentations unedited by the talking heads and biased campaign representatives. It is harder to explain away incriminating statements by attempting to hide behind ‘context’.

The web is not filtered by standards of accuracy that professional journalists, with all their exceptions and faults, are supposed to execute. But for those interested in open mindedness and accuracy there are plenty of sites to verify those many statements that we should not be so quick to believe. In fact it is more likely that web sources will correct MSM (main stream media) than the other way around.

But the irony of the web is that those we most thought would benefit from it may be defeated by it. Those angry sermons of Reverend Wright will be played endlessly during the campaign on YouTube, and will not end with a thoughtful speech on racism no matter how well received it is. Hillary’s LIE about snipers in Bosnia will be played endlessly. The LIE will be montaged with her other LIES by some clever amateur media hack, set to some attractive music and will be relayed to millions over the entire length of her campaign.

The internet puts the candidates under a microscope like nothing experienced before and it will reveal the worst blemishes and magnify them and repeat them endelessly untill the campaign ends. Once it is on YouTube the candidate cannot spin or control it in any way.

As much as its victims admonish it, the internet with its Googles and TouTubes, may do more for honesty and integrity in a campaign than the MSM ever did.

HKO

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