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Reuters: Politicians have learned to fear and revere the video-sharing Web site that has become a vital part of the campaign for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. More than 2.5 million people have viewed “I’ve Got a Crush…On Obama” about Democratic Sen. Barack
Obama since it was posted last month. A rebuttal video of women fighting over Obama and leading Republican contender Rudy Giuliani has been watched more than 500,000 times in four days.
Many candidates vying for their party’s nomination to run for president have embraced the technological changes, holding polls via YouTube, asking for campaign input and making announcements on the site.
CNN political director Sam Feist said the network decided to hold a YouTube debate in part to highlight the enormous impact the Internet has on politics.
“Clearly the YouTube phenomenon is the perfect opportunity to merge new media and old media in a presidential debate,” he said, adding that the unpredictable nature of the questions will make it harder for candidates to prepare. Read on …