For years to come, people will be studying and talking about how Hillary Clinton managed to lose, or came close to losing the presidential nomination. In fact that discussion has already started. Unfortunately, for most political commentators and scholars, it will not be something that they can talk about articulately. To fully understand what happened here, we will have to turn to....geeks. That's right, computer nerds. You see, it isn't so much that Mr. Obama will make a better President than Ms. Clinton, or that she represents something he doesn't. Rather, it is the fact that Mr. Obama did what most people do...find a cheap way to stick it to the man. In this case, he needed only to look to Amazon.com.
You'll probably remember that when Amazon first started, people hooted at the idea of an online book seller. And then when Amazon branched out into tools and other items, it was seen as a desperate attempt to save the entity. While in fact it took a while for Amazon to make a profit, it is now an everyday feature of life. Why? Because Amazon offers something for everyone in a convenient package. The people at Amazon realized that the while they could make some money off of book buyers, that was not where the true money resided. By offering something to everyone, in a convenient form, it is able to bring everyone together in one place at one time, even though each has a different interest. Merely clicking on a link takes that person to where they want to be, without leaving Amazon.
So, while it seems that Mr. Obama isn't saying anything, in fact he is saying everything. "Come into the tent, we'll take care of you." And people have flocked. They have done so because it is easy. They need only go to the internet and they can link into the Obama organization; an organization that studied the early attempts of Howard Dean and ran with it. Mr. Obama isn't the only one. Ron Paul has raised more money in this fashion than anyone would ever have dreamed. So, while it is true that the Internet is a powerful machine for change, you still need a driver; othrewise Mr. Paul would be the leading Republican candidate.
Yes, this election cycle may be one of generational change, but not in the sense that most political pundits mean it. The discussion has started. For me though, the Internet has only afforded the political process a more expedient means of doing what it has always done; be as centrist as possible to appeal to as many people as possible. The real question is whether it will do anything to enable the winner to lead more effectively.
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