A Watershed Moment
John Hinderaker
There has been a lot of talk about the impact of YouTube on the 2008 election. We saw a preview of things to come, I think, in this video, which has now been viewed around 1 1/2 million times:
The Associated Press talks about the video:
While the video's final image reads "BarackObama.com," the campaign of the Illinois senator has denied being behind it.
Its creator remained anonymous.
But for political strategists, ad experts, even journalists, the ad presents a series of other fundamental unknowns.
-How will Web content outside the control of campaigns affect voters?
-How should campaigns react to anonymous but highly viewed attacks?
-When is Web content, no matter how provocative, newsworthy? ...
The video illustrates the ever-increasing degree to which the candidates and the parties are losing control over the electoral process. Independent actors like 527s, citizen journalists, creators of YouTube videos, etc., will undoubtedly play a bigger role in 2008 than ever before. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen.
Unmasked: Creator of “1984″ anti-Hillary ad is … staffer for Obama consultant
Allahpundit
Arianna smoked him out but Ben Smith pinned the tail on the Messiah:
Arianna reports that Philip de Vellis of Blue State Digital created the spot; Blue State works for Obama. A woman who answered the company’s phone confirmed he works there.
But maybe not for long. Also from Smith:
From Obama aide Bill Burton: “The Obama campaign and its employees had no knowledge and had nothing to do with the creation of the ad. We were notified this evening by a vendor of ours, Blue State Digital, that an employee of the company had been involved in the making of this ad. Blue State Digital has separated ties with this individual and we have been assured he did no work on our campaign’s account.”
Bonus fun fact: Blue State Digital was founded by Dean-o’s Internet team, according to Arianna. ...
Obamanations
Scott Johnson
Barack Obama has denied any knowledge or connection to the previously unknown creator of the hugely enjoyable "1984" Hillary ad that John wrote about here yesterday. No sooner had John written about the ad than its creator was revealed as Philip de Vellis, the employee of an Internet consulting firm working for Senator Obama. De Vellis said he had created the ad on his own time at his apartment on a Sunday afternoon using his own gear without the knowledge of his employer or the Obama campaign. Blue State has released the following statement:
[...]
The AP story and Chicago Tribune note on the revelation are both of interest. Hugh Hewitt asks a rhetorical question: "What would the MSM be saying if the ad had come out of a shop working for one of the GOP's big three?" Hint: Hugh titles his post: "What did Senator Obama know and when did he know it?" Josh Gerstein comments here, Patrick Ruffini here.
UPDATE: ...
