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This AP story by Lillian Cunningham and Rebecca Knowles makes the (in my view) incredibly patronizing argument that younger voters are participating more in the primaries this year because the success of shows like American Idol have created a culture of the masses actively participating in creating celebrities. The jump from creating a pop start to creating a president is a natural one, according to Cunningham and Knowles.

Despite the condescending tone, Cunningham and Knowles do make some cogent claims about how the web has changed politics. Some highlights include:

• A switch in campaign strategy from "the old, vertical, expert-to-layman approach" to "horizontal, peer-to-peer interactivity.
• The ability of social networking tools to conscript potential candidates.
• A starting point for engaged young people to become involved in politics.