The Web on the Candidates

• I'm a little late to this story, but if you haven't read it yet either spend some time with Joshua Green's great look into how the Silicon Valley wing of the Obama fundraising operation gave his campaign momentum. In the early going, the Obama campaign was all about extracting stuff from niches -- small amounts of activist interest, tiny bits of cash. They weren't worth going after until the Internet's tools and ethos evolved, and then, bam! It's like eating a lobster barehanded and suddenly being handed that tiny fork.

• Are we witnessing the decline and fall of straight-up political blogs?

• Over on the Next Right Mike Turk says that the very bloggy McCain Report, the looser of the campaign's two official blogs, is "what campaign blogs should be." Turk calls the Obama blog dry and boring, but his co-blogger Jon Henke heaps praise on Obama's overall Internet plan for integrating everything from messaging to mobilization to money.

• The decidedly not-safe-for-work video Blue Balled from the new group Truth Through Action is gaining attention for its "I only sleep with Democrats message." Says TechPresident's Andrew Rasiej: "It's the Gap-ification of politics" -- referring, I think, to the fact that there are actual young people in the video who are kinda hot.

The Candidates on the Web

• When you want to check out an urban legend, you hit Snopes.com. The Obama campaign is hoping that when you want to check out a rumor about their candidate you'll hop on over to the new FightTheSmears.com. It's a one-stop shop for debunking of stories about Obama, but is the campaign taking a risk giving high-profile attention to these rumors? Obama the constitutional lawyer seems willing to gamble on the "the best antidote to bad speech is more speech" approach.

• Obama's "cybergenic instincts" are one key to his success, writes Silicon Valley tech forecaster Paul Saffo. He reports on a dinner with Clinton folks where he left "the distinct impression that Hillary Clinton and her team were anything but passionate about digital media."

From the Newly Created "TechCongress and Beyond" File...

• Consider adding @johnculberson to your Twitter friend list. Rep. John Culberson, Republican of Texas, is Twittering directly from the floor of the House of Representatives, reporting on how votes go, providing insight into how Congress works, and commenting on the need to shine a little light on the shadowed doings of Capitol Hill. Micah Sifry connects Culberson's very public Twittering to a Politico's story that suggests that congresspeople's Blackberry addictions make them not only sufferers of continuous partial attention but also accessible to a closed circle of staff, friends, and lobbyists. A great debate on the topic is just starting up on the TechPresident blog. Join in.

• Julie Germany makes an important point to anyone who thinks tracking candidates with video cameras leads only to "Macaca" moments, highlighting a beleaguered Maryland state delegate whose video-savvy constituent has whipped together a supportive clip using the representative's own words.

In Case You Missed It...

Liza Sabater says a snarky new "I'm Voting Republican" video represents "the defining meme of the 2008 general elections."

Micah Sifry looks at the nascent Rasiej for President campaign. Seriously. For real.

Patrick Ruffini reports that the secret to MyBarackObama.com is one word: "eGroups."

Josh Levy expresses warm fondness for the return of the McCain Girls. You feeling okay there, Joshie? I think a couple of weeks away from the Digest might have caused him to take leave of his senses.