I believe that the main way in which blogs will affect the upcoming election is to bring people together and drum up enthusiasm for the candidates. Howard Dean's campaign site (which has since become the Blog for America) has shown us just how powerful the internet can be as a campaign tool, and he has left a legacy that will still be a factor in November. Blogs play an important role because it requires very little effort for an average person to become involved; politically apathetic people who would have remained detached in the past are drawn to blog sites because they are so easily accessible. Once readers reach these sites, they are drawn in further because it is so easy to make contact with other people who share similar values. Instead of sitting at home alone and isolated, people can share their enthusiasm for a particular candidate and use this energy to reach out to other voters. Blogs make people feel like they are part of the campaign instead merely informing them about it, and this will keep people's interest up, perhaps even all the way to election day.

While I completely agree that blogs are excellent tool for rallying support behind a candidate, I think blogs will have an even greater effect on the election in the amount of money they can raise. We all know that money is a vital factor in the success of any campaign, and blogs are incredibly well-suited to encouraging campaign donations.

On the most basic level, blogs make it easy to donate money. If a campaign blog has already caught the attention of the reader, there is no easier way to make a donation than to click a button and donate online. As noted in the previous post, the nature of blogs makes readers feel welcome and puts them in the perfect mood to make a speedy donation while they visit the blog.

Advertising on blogs can also contribute to fundraising. More and more blogs are supporting advertisements, and some candidates have already found out how lucrative blog ads can be. In February, Democrat Ben Chandler ran for a House of Representatives seat in Kentucky. Chandler's staff decided to invest $2,000 on blog advertisements that appeared on 11 left-leaning blogs, and in just two weeks they earned back $80,000 for the campaign (more details can be found here). Although this scenario provides no guarantees, it makes sense that these ads work for political candidates because they can take advantage of having a highly-targeted audience. Supporters are much more likely to make a donation if you remind them of your campaign on the very sites from which they draw political news and commentary.

Blogs can go a long way in terms of building enthusiasm and support for a candidate, but they can go even further in bringing much-needed dollars to the campaign effort.

Although the previous comments regarding the effect of blogs on the upcoming election are certainly true, they seem to blow the impact of blogs out of proportion. Blogging is a new and unfamiliar phenomenon to many, and because of this we should be more conservative in our estimates of how blogs may affect the election. Both candidates will still spend billions of dollars on television ads; such an investment is not trivial, and it indicates just how much television ads will continue to overshadow other campaign techniques. In addition, candidates know that there is simply no substitute for face-to-face interaction with voters out on the campaign trail. As Joanna Weiss noted in this Boston Globe article, scenes like the one in Iowa when John Kerry reunited with a fellow Vietnam War veteran simply has no comparison in the blogosphere. We should also remind ourselves that, despite the fundraising success and lavish media coverage that Howard Dean and his bloggers enjoyed, no amount of internet campaigning could prevent his defeat. Americans are accustomed to certain campaign tactics during election season, and though blogs may have some influence, it is unlikely that they will have any sizeable effect on a large number of voters.

No matter what advantages blogs bring to the Presidential candidates, it seems as though John Kerry will be the bigger beneficiary in November. Because of the success of Howard Dean's campaign in raising money and generating enthusiasm over the internet, democrats are more likely to be aware of and interested in reading political blogs. In addition, the Democratic party traditionally draws support from a younger sector of the population, and young people are undoubtedly more in tune with the blogosphere than older voters. Thus, while both candidates and their respective supporters will certainly host blogs, it seems more likely that John Kerry will reap whatever benefits the sites provide.