Whistle-Stop.com

It seems like there’s a new candidate throwing their hat into the 2008 election ring every day, lately. But isn’t it a bit early? Is the media cashing in on their lust for a good horserace this early or are the potential candidates doing whatever they can to make the evening news? According to a recent Washington Post article (see link), neither. Most hopefuls this early on are still trying to raise as much money as possible before going into an election that is projected to be the first billion dollar campaign in American history. In fact, John McCain has already spent almost $400,000 in 2006 on gathering aides in New Hampshire and Iowa, while John Kerry had only spent around $4,000 by this time in 2002, according to that same article.

Nothing, however, outweighs the importance of eyeball economy. Many of these candidates have already begun a campaign of sorts on the Internet, like John Edwards, who used YouTube to announce his intention to run for office. Edwards is not alone in his reliance on the Web to get the word out. According to an article on PBS.org (see link) many of the candidates this time around will launch huge online ad campaigns and tap into the Web with similar alacrity that was once reserved for TV commercials.

But will this be enough? Will the immediacy and comfort of watching a political speech, for instance, from home on your computer be enough to squelch those old feelings of participation that can only come from actually attending a rally? Can it eclipse the Romanized stories about Truman’s Whistle Stop Tour we all still carry around from civics class? In an age where you now have to have a billion dollars worth of backing, perhaps a dash of nostalgia wouldn’t hurt.

Washington Post: In Campaign 2008, Candidates Starting Earlier, Spending More
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020601598.html?referrer=email

PBS.org: 2008 Cadidates Jump Online Early with Blog Ads
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/01/politicalshift2008_candidates.html