Is Al Gore the Answer?

No. No, he is not.

I don't mean this in a "they need to drop out of the race" kind of way. I mean, literally, the world has changed, politics has changed, and the Clintons, who first entered politics in the 1970s and came of age in the 1990s, have been left behind.

In 2006, George Allen's "macaca moment" ushered in a new age of politics -- one where anything and everything said on the campaign trail is copied and pasted into everything else. In today's social-media-connected world, the term "viral" takes on new meaning. Most significantly, in the previous age of politics, where television dominated the mediascape, "message" was controlled both by the news media and the candidates. Today, a third element -- the voters -- can now potentially has a say in the message-spreading process. For example, Allen's racist remark, caught on tape and posted on YouTube, became the dominant narrative, and, thus, he lost.

Several of these viral moments have played (or are playing) significant roles in political campaigns: Allen's macaca, Liberman's "kiss," McCain's "hug."

And now, Hillary Clinton's "Bosnian Memories."

What's interesting here, of course, is that the virus spread this time, not because of something caught "live" on tape, but from footage from years ago, made available and replicated over YouTube:

In the past, a campaign might have hoped that something like this would go away, that the traditional media, especially television news, would not run the old video.  But the old video got out, via YouTube, and people have been looking at it for days...except, apparently, Hillary Clinton, who is still talking about what she was told, which doesn't hold up to what we, thanks to YouTube, can see with our own eyes. 

In a YouTube age, this was an incredibly amateurish mistake. And I think amateurish is precisely the correct word, because both Hillary and Bill Clinton are today, not the wise old Party Elders who hold political savvy, but neophytes. Technical neophytes in an age of Facebook-connected politics. The Bosnia incident, the "Jesse Jackson" comments, the "Fairy Tale" -- all have been played and replayed over YouTube, and blogged about over the liberal blogosphere. (The Scaife photo is apparently next.)

In the past, in the 1990s, these were all the kinds of gaffs that the Clintons' could have gotten past: play the refs, change the subject, go on attack. Anything to get to the next news cycle.

But today, this no longer plays. Or, at least, it's no guarantee.

Not that Obama is immune to this, either. But, so far, Obama has displayed much more media savvy (and therefore political savvy), in that there haven't been many, if any, "macaca moments" for him. Of course, there was the Wright video, but it wasn't Obama's words.

Interestingly, and more proof of Obama's dominance in the YouTube age, the Wright incident is in many ways helping him:

In a pre-Internet era, the manifold replayings on television of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sound bites denouncing America would probably have deeply damaged Obama's candidacy. But millions of voters have been flocking to the web to watch his 37-minute response to the controversy, and observers across the spectrum — from Peggy Noonan to Andrew Sullivan to Jon Stewart — have praised Obama for speaking from the heart and appealing to people's intelligence.

Well, Andrew Sullivan...that's no shocker.

Anyway, that's the thing, that's what makes today's political era different -- you cannot spin away your own words. You can't spin away you not hitting the tarmac under sniper fire.

What you can do, though, is have others turn these gaffs around for you. By tapping into the viral-ness of today's media consumer, you can turn a deficit into a plus.

But, to do that, you have to understand the new rules of the game.

The Clintons, to their detriment, do not.

Barack Obama often says it's time to "turn the page," but that's not it at all. The page has already been turned.

You can't expect to win in politics today if you're a chapter, or maybe more precisely, a blog post, behind.

Apparently the real Sinbad wants us to know that the fake Sinbad is not the real Sinbad.

I've got news for the real Sinbad -- the real Sinbad needs to know that the fake Sinbad is not so easily dismissed. Fake Sinbad, through his writing here, has opened up to us. He's taken the time to share his life with us. We have laughed with fake Sinbad. And we have cried.

We have lived.

I am saying this not as a favor to fake Sinbad, but simply as a fan, a fellow blogger. A friend. Fake Sinbad, you see, is now part of the TPM community -- he is one of us.

In fact, I would go as far as to say the fake Sinbad is more real to us than the real Sinbad.

Has the real Sinbad blogged here at TPM? No.

The fake Sinbad has.

Has the real Sinbad not-gone to Bosnia, not not-taken sniper fire, and lived to tell about it? No.

The fake Sinbad has.

Has the real Sinbad proposed himself as Sen. Clinton's running mate? No.

The fake Sinbad has.

Has the real Sinbad apologized for dissing Fred Armisen?

Well, I'm not sure if fake Sinbad has, either. But I BELIEVE he will.

You see, I BELIEVE in fake Sinbad.

I BELIEVE he can be a force for good in this world. Well, or at least on this blog. Anyway....

So, real Sinbad, listen up. Hear me loud and clear:

You cannot stop fake Sinbad. You cannot simply email TPM and stop what fake Sinbad has started. You cannot stop the movement that has begun. You cannot stop me from RECOMMENDING his blog posts -- again and again and again.

I BELIEVE in fake Sinbad.

I believe...

I have no idea what Democrats are so incredibly vested in the two candidates we have. Don't people realize that, no matter what they say, both Clinton and Obama are still *just* politicians?

Kurt Vonnegut once wrote: There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.

He was right.

Here are some thing to keep in mind, no matter who wins this race for the nomination.

Your candidate is not going to Change The World.

Your candidate is not going to remove the troops from Iraq anytime soon.

Your candidate is not going to bring our country Universal Health Care.

Your candidate is not going to stop corporations from "maximizing shareholder wealth."

Your candidate is not going to stop our oil dependence.

Your candidate is not going to stop our land and air from being polluted.

Your candidate is not even going to get much of their legislation passed through the filibuster-friendly Congress.

I urge perspective, people.

Perspective.

Are Josh and TPM biased for Hillary Clinton this week? Or for Barack Obama?

Sorry, I lost track.