The Change Mariner

The Internet Political Attack Ad

New York Times:

When the Web was in its infancy, Internet utopians envisioned a political revolution, predicting that the new medium would engage and empower voters as never before. Much of what they envisioned has come to pass, with the Internet facilitating vigorous debate this year, most dramatically, giving Howard Dean's campaign the ability to raise millions.

But part of the Web's appeal has been its unbridled nature, and it is showing that it can act as a back alley -- where punches can be thrown and things can be said that might be deemed out of place, even if just at a particular moment, in the full light of the mainstream media.

The principals themselves feel like they can act out there in a way that they wouldn't dare to do in the mainstream media, said Jonathan Zittrain, a director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.