“Four years ago, the Internet was a Wild West that caused the occasional headache for the campaigns but for the most part remained segregated from them. This year, the development of cheap new editing programs and fast video distribution through sites like YouTube has broken down the barriers, empowering a new generation of largely unregulated political warriors who can affect the campaign dialogue faster and with more impact than the traditional opposition research shops,” writes Jim Rutenberg in today New York Times.

The article profiles film director Robert Greenwald who has been making videos about John McCain, mostly about his contradictions, and putting them on You Tube.  They’ve been viewed more than 5 million times.

“. . . cash expenses to make and distribute the segment were about $50, a fraction of the roughly $100,000 that it would cost to broadcast a 30-second spot on a television news program with an audience of a few million, like “Meet the Press.” “That’s dirt cheap for an ad,” said conservative video producer Jason Mitchell.