Here’s an idea, switch the debates. Free up the Presidential candidates to deal with the economic crisis in Washington, and let Biden and Palin fight it out. I don’t see why that wouldn’t be an option.

(link fixed)

Ron Paul is a recent phenomenon, and by all rights, traditionally would not be that big of a contender in the republican competition. He is, however, bolstered by a dedicated legion of online supporters. His supporters are raising awareness for their candidate by taking over online polls and check him out on MySpace, Technorati, and Digg. His online presence is unprecedented for the Republicans.

If you think that is impressive, it is minor in comparison to the support that Obama is getting. Last I checked, he was nearing 80,000 friends on MySpace, his online fundraising is nearly unstoppable, and the internet grassroots are on fire to support him.

These two candidates may be trailing in the traditional polls and somewhat in the traditional media, but they are excelling online. I’m not quite sure what this says about the leading candidates, or the power of the internet. Paul’s surge seems to be more manufactured, based on rigging the democratic systems of the web to return results favorable to the supported candidate. Obama’s support has more of an organic feel with power in numbers.

Who knows what the landscape will look like in a year, but Obama and Paul certainly are not in a _bad_ position with their online support. It does prominently point out that the traditional machine is still more successful with the traditional media, but it may also be a sign of the end times for that machine. Get ready, this is the last election of television and newspaper.

(And what’s in Ron Paul’s hand in that photo? I don’t know, you tell me.)