This has to do with the election and the internet. I mention a view or two of mine. Big deal.
I don't know what people did during an election year before the internet. How did they find out about the candidates? It must have been excrutiatingly difficult if you missd the candidates TV appearance or if no one canvassed your street. This was the first year I ever really payed atention to politics. I guess I could have been considered complacent beforehand, but oh well..I'm not anymore.
So...at the begining of the year, I was really juiced up about Ron Paul. I learned about him through a friend and decided to check him out. I wen to his website a bunch, watched all his interviews on Youtube, looked at his stances, yad yada yada...I did all I could to find out about the guy. ****I also looked into the other GOP candidates, but RP kept my entusiasm through the course of the GOP debates and primary season. I bypassed the democrats, mostly because I figured they'd win anyway and I wanted to keep tabs on my guy. I became increasingly excited as time went on. I was glued to the TV for every second of the debates, on the internet all time and I even donated a small amount to his campaign.
All that aside, I got all my info about al the candidates (I just realised the word "candid" makes up most of "candidate"...interseting epytimology there haha) from the internet (youtube was a popular stop) and TV which leaves me wondering...what did people do before the internet? I know this is a silly question, but there's actually a grain of sincerity to it.
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3 comments:
Hey, Pat, I understand your point of view. I also searched the internet many times before making my decision.
I believe prior to the internet, many candidates were featured in newspapers as well as tv appearances. Newspapers (in print) have been such a huge source of information, so I'm sure many people did, and still do, use that for political info.
Now that the internet is so popular, many new sites have been able to distribute information in different ways. I think that more and more people are getting involved in politics, mainly because it's hard not to. Everywhere you look: newspapers, tv, internet, an advertisement hanging on your door nob... there is something about the recently passed election! :) I have to admit, this is the first election that I've participated in, and I do think that the internet played a role in that decision.
Internet has definitely aided presidential campaigns and elections. I was a political freak since late elementary school, so I found myself reading the newspapers daily for information to accompany what I would hear on the news or watch in debates or presidential addresses. It's nice to be able to find all of that information and then some on the Internet! Plus it's really great for those undecided voters or those who don't know too much about candidates. There are even some websites (can't recall the names at the moment) where you can select the issues that are most important to you and it will rank order candidates as they fit you best.
Imagine how different the campaigns were for the 2008 candidates versus candidates decades ago. When newspapers and local news stations were basically the only source of information about politicians it was harder to get information out. Now, we can know the whole life story of everyone who knew Barack Obama because there are 100's of "sources" and tons of media surrounding the campaign.
Candidates are so highly scrutinized so they really cannot hide anything! I guess I would say that the age of technology (the internet and mass media, in particular) has made more honest campaigns possible.
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