A number of you have asked recently whether I think the Howard Dean campaign (or, perhaps, the MoveOn.org online endorsement vote) is that "defining moment" for the Internet that changes politics forever. I'm not sure, but Slate.com's Chris Suellentrop makes a powerful point: The Dean campaign is mobilizing a powerful group of Net-based activists -- so powerful, they may launch him into the White House; or maybe they'll "move on" right past him.
An excerpt: "It's too early to say for certain, but Howard Dean may turn out to be the Napster of presidential politics: the force that enables the Internet to upend an entire industry, threatens to transform the way it collects money, and opens the eyes of the average person to yet another way to use the Net. But if Dean is a political Napster, it will probably mean more for politics in general than it means for Howard Dean."
Read "Should Howard Dean be a little bit afraid of the Internet?" in Slate.com.
This item was originally posted at MandateMedia.com on October 6, 2003.
Posted on October 6, 2003 in the big question | See full archives
Tweet this!
