We Want Media

YouChoose ’08 on YouTube has kicked off its presidential-video campaigns with Gov. Mitt Romney’s question, “What is America’s Single Greatest Challenge?” Less than 200,000 viewers watched. Wonderful. At the same time, Camp Clinton has a video of her singing, off-key at that. Funny, yes. But how very political and yet it’s six times more popular.

Yahoo! News gave a thumbs up to this new approach, saying that “the videos and the online hangouts can convey a new sense of intimacy.” Too much intimacy at times. I really didn’t need to hear how badly Hillary can’t coo. The New York Times is freer to criticize the new media for campaigning. Suddenly, the politically minded can stalk all the candidates and compare them, then-and-now style, with a library of videos.

But that’s not the issue. As powerful as a tool YouTube may be, users would rather laugh at Clinton’s screeching than listen to and think about issues. Clinton singing off key received more hits than all of the 2008 campaign videos combined Kind of funny, but also kind of sad.