The January 22 Business Week article, “John Edwards, the e-Candidate” highlights two relatively new aspects of political campaigning as candidates gear up for the 2008 Presidential election. Edwards announced his plans to run in the 2008 Presidential race via e-mail and video broadcast on YouTube, at once thrusting viral video into the political limelight and establishing himself as “the e-Candidate.” Broadly, we can compare Edwards to other presidential hopefuls and note the different levels to which the candidates rely on the Internet in their campaigns. Secondly, and more specifically, Edwards’ announcement seems to have taken Peter Csathy’s advice about video campaigning, utilizing viral video to tell the world he would make a bid for the Presidency.

Edwards’ Internet-savvy campaign style raises a number of questions. Will other politicians follow suit? What financial impact could broader Internet campaigning and the use viral video have on Presidential campaigns? Could creating such a prominent web-presence backfire for candidates as negative video clips slip out along-side the positive?

In any case, this should prove an interesting phenomenon to watch as candidates search for greater and broader means to edge into the political spotlight.