The Web on the Candidates

• Given that using technology to shine light into government has been one of the cornerstones of Barack Obama’s campaign, David Weinberger's proposal for the Democratic nominee to let us "see the vice-sausage being made" makes some kinda sense. (After all, picking a running mate has been called the first governing decision. And yes, I just linked to David Brooks. Sometimes he says smart things.) But don't hold your breath; Obama had this to say yesterday: "The next time you hear from me about the vice-presidential selection process will be when I have selected a vice president."

• Honeymoon's over, kids. After about eleven minutes of bipartisan good-wishes-all-around, the Republican National Committee has launched the "one-stop site" for their take on their opponent. Meet MeetBarackObama.com. The site makes clear the major bullet points on which they'll go after the Democratic candidate: resume, political experience both foreign and domestic, and ties to certain benefactors and allies. While the Democratic National Committee offers up a rather more anemic subsection on their site about John MccCain...

• ...taking up some slack is the Florida Democratic Party. HurricaneMcCain.com is a holder for a short video criticizing McCain's opposition to a national disaster fund that just about every politico in Florida supports -- including oft-mentioned VP pick Gov. Charlie Crist. The video highlights McCain’s appearance before DC's Conservative Political Action Conference in which he told of how he said "no" to the fund even while campaigning in the Sunshine State. One wonders if he considered that that clip might find its way back to the critical general election state via the tubes.

• Wired's Sarah Lai Stirland profiles a site said to be a hub for jaded Clinton supporters leading a charge of disenchanted Democrats against Obama, but it looks to me like the work of one lone, um, colorful personality.

The Candidates on the Web

• McCain campaign chief Rick Davis announces a video competition around the upcoming Republican National Convention. To enter, simply upload a video to YouTube by June 26 highlighting "an American neighbor," someone who epitomizes selflessness in service. The winners will be on their way to Minneapolis, where, one might extrapolate, selflessness in service just might be a theme. (Thx Carlo)

• The digital medium is the political message, and vice versa. In Time's useful take on his primary victory, Obama describes “how powerfully our message merged with the social networking and the power of the Internet” as "probably one of the biggest surprises of the campaign." (Also to look for in the piece is this classic Joe Trippi analogy: the Dean campaign is to the Obama campaign as the Wright brothers were to the Apollo Project.)

• The Huffington Post is making a big deal about how King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of Jordon is "blogging" on the site, but his posts so far have all been reprinted speeches. A bit more promising is this contribution on the 2016 Olympics by Dorrit Moussaieff. What, you don’t follow Nordic politics? Sheesh. Moussaieff is Iceland’s first lady.

In Case You Missed It...

Micah Sifry highlights some of the week’s compelling political videos, including one showing a playful "fist bump of hope" between Barack and Michelle Obama. Micah cautions against appending "of hope" to everything the Dem nominee does between now and November, but I suspect we may have found the new "-gate."