Even though Rep. (R-TX) is a 72 year old grandfather and does little more than use the Internet to read the online news, his presidential campaign has been utilizing the Internet to make this once obscure retired doctor a serious contender. In 1988, Paul, a 10–term Texas Congressman ran for president on the Libertarian ticket pulling just over 431,000 of the popular votes.

Now, almost 20 years later, Ron Paul is getting plenty of notice for both the very progressive changes he is advocating for and the utilization of the Internet to level the campaign playing field.

He is using Web2.0 optimization strategies like posting YouTube videos and enlisting all of the top social networking sites  including Facebook, Friendster and MySpace. Last week, independent supporters raised $4million online and $200k over the phone on a single day setting a one day record within the Republican party. Paul estimated that the one-day haul had given him at least “$10million worth of free publicity”.

The Internet has been coming into its own after the 2004 presidential election when Howard Dean, a Democratic presidential contender, realized early success in fund-raising and organizing. Here is a interview with Joe Trippi, a mainstay in presidential politics now working on the John Edwards campaign.

The is no denying the power the Internet has as a campaign tool and the role it will play in the 2008 elections, however one of the ironies of it all is that politicians are having a hard time reconciling themselves to a medium where they cannot control the message. A double edged sword, wouldn’t you agree?

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