YouTube Warriors Redefine Politics

A glut of political amateurs who produce popular videos on the cheap for YouTube and similar sites is redefining campaign politics. The New York Times takes a look at the phenomenon, in which partisans with nothing but passion and a computer produce often scathing videos about McCain and Obama. The campaigns, meanwhile, are struggling to ajdust to "politics at the speed of the Internet," as one Obama adviser puts it.

“There’s just a lot of people who at a very low cost can do this stuff and don’t need a memo from HQ," he adds. Even just four years ago, the Internet played a limited role in campaigns. But this year, thanks in part to cheap editing programs, these unregulated video-makers are often trumping the party machines in getting their message out. Should the candidates ignore them or confront them? The strategy is still evolving. (More Election 2008 stories.)