Alan Rosenblatt 05/17/2007 - 8:47pm

While all of the candidates are using the internet to talk to the voters, some are using it to listen to them. And others are changing the way they talk with voters because they listened to them. That is the democratizing power of the internet.

For example, we tend to think that websites such as YouTube help broaden the reach of democratic communication (note the little "d"). More people can and do learn about the candidates as a result of the internet. And YouTube helps them learn through video, a medium that all of us are very comfortable using.

This is great for enabling the voter to better exercise his/her sovereign power to vote, speak their mind, assemble in groups, publish opinions, and petition the government. But what about those left behind?

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