Web-savvy campaigning

Sen. Hillary Clinton signaled that hers would be an Internet-savvy presidential campaign by announcing her candidacy with a video posted on her Web site and e-mails to supporters. Throughout the week, she has been hosting live video chats. And on Thursday, Clinton held her first town hall meeting in cyberspace.

Clinton, a New York Democrat, used the Yahoo Answers service to ask voters: “Based on your own family’s experience, what do you think we should do to improve health care in America?'’

By 5 p.m. Pacific time, Clinton had gotten more than 33,000 answers, making her question the second-most popular in the history of Yahoo Answers, a place where users can ask questions and get other users to answer them. Clinton is trumped by Oprah, who received 37,000 answers over several days to the question: “If you were given $1,000 to change the life of a perfect stranger, what would you do?'’

Clinton’s moves put her in the company of a cadre of politicians and interest groups who have successfully harnessed the power of the Internet as a political tool. In 1998 Jesse Ventura effectively used e-mail; in 2000 Sen. John McCain taught his colleagues a lesson in online fundraising; in 2002 MoveOn.org showed how the Internet could be used to mobilize voters; and Howard Dean showed how it could be used to connect with them.

“This is the great era of experimentation of politics and the Internet,'’ said Lee Rainie, founding director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

In a recent study, Pew found that 15 percent of all American adults said they got most of their campaign news during the 2006 election from the Internet, up from 7 percent in the midterm election of 2002.

“It’s a chance to reach out to as many voters as we can and to try to continue the conversation that the senator wants to have with them,'’ said Blake Zeff, a campaign spokesman.

Zeff said Clinton has had an ongoing relationship with Yahoo that has included contributing to a blog on Yahoo Health. In September, Clinton asked Yahoo if she could pose a question on the Answer service.

On Oct. 1, Clinton asked: “How can we help to prevent and someday eradicate breast cancer, which has touched the lives of so many people?'’ She got 4,890 responses — enough for her to say yes when Yahoo asked if she wanted to try again.

Yahoo stresses that the invitation was not an endorsement, and it would be happy to give equal time to any candidate. In an introduction to Clinton’s question, the company wrote: “We are not siding with any candidate or party — in general or for the 2008 U.S. elections. We’re hopeful that people from all perspectives will realize the great insights that the Answers community can have, and will turn to us for future discussions.'’

Melissa Rische, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said the service has become increasingly popular with celebrities and politicians. Since Al Gore participated in its “Ask the Planet'’ promotion in June, questions have been posed by Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Maria Shriver, Martha Stewart, William Shatner and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“It’s a very smart move,'’ said Dan Schnur, McCain’s former communications director who helped run McCain’s online campaign.

Julie Barko-Germany, deputy director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University, said Clinton is showing that the Internet is the new town hall.

“So many people are used to politicians telling them what they think,'’ Barko-Germany said. “In this case, it’s the politician asking voters what they think and actually listening to the answers.'’