By The Numbers: Will You Be My Prez?
If social network sites give any indication of what party will win in 2008, the smart money's with the donkeys.
In the 2004 presidential race, the media, including Baseline'sDecember 2003 cover story, examined Howard Dean's use of the Internet as a game-changing campaign tool. As the 2008 race sprints forward, Democratic candidates are taking a page from Dean's book, but this time they're focusing on popular social networking sites to rally their true believers. On sites like MySpace, candidates are creating home pages filled with photos, videos, news releases and position papers-even, for some, links to buy their book(s). More than 18 months away from Election Day, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has more than 50,000 MySpace friends, according to TechPresident.com.
The grandest of the Grand Old Party contenders-in MySpace, at least-is little-known Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who checks in with just under 3,000 buddies.