August 19, 2008 1:53PM

Does Internet Chatter Matter?

By Alexis Glick

The clock is ticking and the moment is almost here. Early reports this morning suggested Obama could announce his VP pick as early as tomorrow; now we hear Thursday or Friday. What about McCain? Word is he will announce his pick on August 29th in a rally in Ohio on his 72nd birthday. Not sure that’s the best decision, but maybe it suggests that he’ll pick a much younger VP candidate to offset the age gap.

What about the feeding frenzy on the internet surrounding their VP selections? It’s a wonder that they have been able to keep their discussions under lock and key, especially given word that the vice presidential staffs have been selected. One would think with the proliferation of Internet gossip that the cat would be out of the bag already… but kudos to both candidates and their campaigns for making us wait with baited breath.

So, given that we are waiting, and waiting, and waiting, we asked Jordan Lieberman, the publisher of Politics magazine and Larry Ward, the president and CEO of Political Media, to join us on Money for Breakfast this morning. They discussed the Internet phenomenon and whether the campaigns are capitalizing on our hunger for more by satiating us with things like texting, community involvement, viral and video marketing. How much is too much? Are they both doing it successfully? How does the perception and chatter on the Internet effect who they think the candidates will select as VP candidates?