This election will not be won or lost on the basis of a single ad or two. This much is already clear. Defining the other guy as the key to an election win is the mantra of the media pundits who are reliving the last election. However, this year's election will be squarely won on the strength of the campaign's net roots.
With millions of people following the election on a 24/7 cycle the narrative is defined via viral ads, videos and comments we put out. KO picking up on our talking point is but one example of this happening.
Now, most of that stuff gets lost in the noise but the best pieces percolate to the top and drive the narrative of the traditional media. This has worked to some advantage for both campaigns. The bad guys got the Rev. Wright stuff played on a non-stop loop while we got the 'many mansions' McCain, the 'hot bottled water for dehydrated babies', the 'bomb, bomb, bomb Iran' McCain etc.
The media is still tilted against us but it's become clear to me that we have far more influence at driving the narrative than we give ourselves credit for. Ads produced by the net roots become viral videos in a matter of hours sometimes even grabbing the attention of traditional media.
The voter registration effort and GOTV will also be easier and more powerful thanks to the net roots. Mobilizing an army of young people with their cellphones and twitter accounts will shine come election day.
That said, the other side is not blind to those technological marvels and they are making a good use of them. However, I do believe we have the better, stronger net roots army that will ultimately push us over the top in the coming weeks.