The Power of the Blog

Sept. 26, 2004 — -- There was a time, when any political candidate worth his salt needed to master a cutting-edge new technology -- television.

Remember the first televised debate in 1960, pitting Richard Nixon against John F. Kennedy? Nixon showed up for the appearance pale with no makeup on, looking rumpled. Kennedy was the perfect picture of health and youth. He won the debate and the election.

What television was to politics then, the Internet is to politics now.

"You had to master television after that to have any chance of being elected in this country. In the future you're going to have to master the Net and master being able to connect with people and get them involved or you won't survive," says Joe Trippi, author of The Revolution Will Not be Televised.

Trippi should know. He was former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's "resident geek," the man who harnessed the Internet and helped build Dean's core of support online.

In this election year, Trippi says, the Internet has changed the political landscape.

"It's changed everything, it's absolutely changed everything. And it's going to keep changing everything."

One of the most critical changes to political discourse is the rising popularity of online political Weblogs -- or "blogs" for short.

On blogs, dialogue and debate happens on the fly, often in real time.

For example, on Wednesday of this week, President Bush talked about the war on terror with an audience in King of Prussia, Pa.

Bush said, "These terrorists are hoping to shake the will of the Iraqi people and the American people."

At about the same time, someone named Richard made this entry on a blog: "A majority of the public does not stand with this administration on this war."