Like I've said all along, Ron Paul = Snakes on a Plane
Lots of hype, disappointing turnout.
I agree with some of the man's views (and disagree with others), but the fact of the matter is that all of the email spam botnets and front page Digg stories in the world count for DICK in this case.
In the first Republican debate on Fox News, they had an online poll asking who viewers thought won the debate. Naturally, Ron Paul supporters flooded to foxnews.com and Ron Paul won the poll.
Meant NOTHING. Why?
Because as soon as the poll numbers came up on the screen, Sean Hannity says on camera that obviously the poll has been hacked.
Now while you and I may know that's not true, do you really think Ma and Pa Kettle in middle America didn't take his assertion at face value? Come on. Ron Paul got BOOED by the crowd during that debate for one of his remarks. THAT is what stuck with the viewers.
I've got an 80yo grandmother who votes Democrat every 4 years and a baby boomer father who has never voted anything but Republican. Neither of them have ever heard of Digg, neither of them get their politics from the web, and guess what... they are the voting majority!
I'm not saying it's right that Ron Paul didn't get as much mainstream media exposure as some other candidates, and I'm not crying conspiracy either. But the fact of the matter is that when you're pitching yourself to the country as a whole, TV spots and interviews and pavement-pounding grassroots supporters will trump social media and forum warriors every time.
The internet is playing an increasingly more important role in the political process, but we need to understand and accept that internet-savvy voters are still a minority in this country.