Spring Break
Internet moves national politics into 21st century
James Baker
Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: News
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Google and Wikipedia's offspring Ballotpedia exemplify how the Internet is becoming the main source of information for students.
Yet the complete freedom enjoyed by anyone who feels an itch to dissect anything and everything on election issues and candidates also has its downfalls.
Gaffs by candidates are played over and over, discussed, dissected and ridiculed on national blogs in between classes and by the boss walking by at work.
YouTube videos claiming Sen. Barack Obama will bring about world Muslim domination and featuring Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's chat with Katie Couric have made their rounds on the Internet over and over.
Yet in recent rallies, outbursts over Obama's religion exemplified how Internet rumors are tried and true facts to some. And there is plenty of room for both rumor and fact in the unregulated cyber world, which is many students' only source of information.
"The Internet is definitely the primary source for information," said Leonard Barron, a mechanical engineering student. "It just like television. It's great."
However, the Web does have a lot of junk on it, Barron said.
Chris Witson, also a mechanical engineering student, agreed.
"I just spent all of yesterday reading all that crap," Witson said, referring to the numerous e-mails from opposite ends of the political spectrum that he receives daily.
"They were blindly talking about partial-birth abortion and Obama's position," Witson said, and that gave him the itch to immediately research the topic.
"More often you see the negative than the positive," he said.
People visit the Internet for information before they watch T.V., said Kevin Ziobrowski, a fine arts and education student.
"It just that accessible when you have a question," he said.
However, Ziobrowski said he doesn't use the Internet much to get information on politics because some seemingly credible sites can reshape facts and contain a great deal of slant.
"I'm just more of a newspaper guy," Ziobrowski said.
Senior Sammy Chung said the Internet is a double-edged sword, though it has revolutionized the way students can access information on a candidate or issue with the click of a mouse.
While candidates and politicians still are held to high standards, even as they face dismal popularity in the polls as Americans face tough times, there is no room for error in an election that may break the back of a divided Republican Party or see Obama's prospects dim in the face of racism that, contrary to popular belief among students, still exists for some.
On the other side of the virtual coin, there still are millions of Americans who do not even watch local news, much less evaluate a candidate's tax proposal by searching on Google.
With polls ranging from a 1 percent lead for Obama to a 9 percent lead, the Nov. 4 elections looks like it will be closer than any blog could predict.
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