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From Salon Senator Joe Biden actually says a few things about online campaigning and the 2008 Race

How angry will you be if this turns out not to be a serious election on the issues and is instead decided over who has the best “Sopranos” parody video or who had the most maladroit haircut? Or even, who shouts the loudest about how much they hate the Iraq war?

If it turns out to be that, I will be very disappointed that I didn’t spend the summer at Rehoboth Beach [Delaware]. You think I’m kidding, I’m not. And it would mean that the Democrats are going to lose if that’s what happens.

But I don’t think that’s where it is. I think that of the candidates who might fit into that categoric description now, it’s possible that one of them could step up. I think one of them can. Others can’t.

Do you think in the era of YouTube and video cellphones, you can get away with being Joe Biden? I mean being a guy who in the space of two minutes in Cedar Rapids started to tell a joke about Al Gore and the Internet and made a reference to George Wallace in a discussion of healthcare plans.

The answer is probably not. But I’ll tell you what — one of the things I’m not going to do. I’m not going to let that system alter who I am. For example, one of the things that happens is that the public is coming to grips with how to deal with this instant, unfiltered information that may be deliberately mis-edited.

But I think — and this is naive maybe — I have confidence that the American people will put this in perspective. Like when one of the bloggers said, “We’re going to take back the Democratic Party.”

They don’t own the Democratic Party. What are they talking about? So, for example, my pointing out George Wallace from 1968 and quoting what he said, somebody could take that out of context and say “Biden quoted Wallace,” making it sound like Biden is being favorable about Wallace.

This weekend Giuliani was publiclly jeered in Florida according to the Associated Press when he rejected the idea of a flat-tax. After he realized he was on the unpopular end of the issue he said he would look into the issue further. (FYI In 1996 Giuliani said such a tax system “would be a terrible mistake for urban areas,”)

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From the Associated Press:

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor says two laptop computers and some campaign literature were taken. A campaign worker discovered the burglary this morning, and a report was filed with Davenport police.

From Bob Novak’s Column:

Obama traveled in an SUV, at first alone and later with his family. No reporter ever entered the SUV, and Obama never visited the bus containing the reporters. One scheduled press availability was trimmed to 10 minutes.

A footnote: Obama’s aloofness contrasted with Bill Clinton, accompanying Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Iowa the same week. At the Dairy Treat in Nashua, Iowa, the former president whipped out $60 and bought malts for reporters following his wife.

This is one of the things that will be interesting to see. Part of the extended campaign season that will work against Obama and other newcomers is that arduous and prolonged schedule. People like Clinton, Giuliani, McCain & Edwards will be able to sustain themselves. Even though Giuliani hasn’t been at the center of a national campaign he HAS enough experience being in the public spotlight and on the go 24/7. Obama on the other hand doesn’t and in his Senate bid he did not face the kind of challenges in the state campaign (his opponent left because of a sex scandal and his replacement had no shot) that others have had to endure.

With a wife, young children & the potential for racial assaults it will undoubtedly create a strong sense of isolation in him during a storm of constant attention. Meanwhile those who report on campaigns want access and if they don’t get it, well, it tends to skew their reporting.

I’ve actually notice lately a difference in reporting of Sen. Obama while he is out on the trail than when he was sitting in the Senate contemplating a run. Same with Sen. Clinton. Her press relations seem to be going up and his down. Is access playing a role?