Maybe not change the way the government "works", but to say that internet didn't help Obama get elected is just simply false. In that sense the government of the USA is working differently because of the internet?

Maybe a stretch, maybe not.

Well, if the internet helped Obama get elected and that counts as changing the way government works, then cartoons have also "changed the way government works" because Eisenhower had an animated campaign ad.

New media creates new ad venues, it doesn't necessarily change what sorts of people are elected to government or what they do once they arrive there.

The internet's ability to change government lies in its ability to connect people, where before you had two guys in a small town with no political power, they can all the sudden become a national force of thousands, two guys in each small town. Hasn't really caused a noticable change in governance yet though, in my opinion. I am young however, so my frame of reference is narrow.

> New media creates new ad venues, it doesn't necessarily change what sorts of people are elected to government or what they do once they arrive there.

My only disagreement would be with this. The people being targeted by these new ad ventures are usually either newly targeted because the venture is newly allowing them to be targeted, or newly targeted because the ad venture allows the targeting of more people for less money.

If new people are being targeted, and more people are voting that wouldn't have before then people are possibly in office that wouldn't have been before these new ad ventures.

I get the feeling that if Obama wouldn't have aggressively gone after my generation (born in the 80's) using means that we understand well (internet) then he wouldn't be in office. But this is purely my gut feeling. I also live in Portland, OR. Which is about as Obama crazy as it gets.

On the flip side though, I'm a "church goin'/Jesus lovin'" dude, and I still don't know anyone my age that didn't vote for Obama. Maybe one.