Medium is message for '08 runs

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Image consultants who handle a presidential candidate's announcement speech might once have had this checklist: Suit clean? Check. Tie straight? Check. No spinach in teeth? Check.

Now, as 2008 hopefuls use the Internet to craft their message, they have an incredible sense of control. Instead of risking a potentially campaign-ending gaffe with a live announcement before a crowd in Iowa or New Hampshire, candidates such as Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois are filming messages on their couches.

At any point, the crew behind the camera can say, "Take Two." Or "Take 12." Or as many takes as necessary until the message is flawless.

Mrs. Clinton spent three days after announcing her presidential intentions holding "chats" with voters via the Internet.

"I want to have a conversation, and I want to choose as many different ways of having that conversation. And you can't have a conversation in America today if you don't utilize the Web and involve as many people as possible," she said during a live chat last week.

Former Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina Democrat, held his own live online video "discussion" because "we should be talking about the great things we can do for our nation and our world if we put our minds to it."

The unusual forum allows candidates to be more relaxed -- the former first lady slouches a bit into a comfy couch -- and may give voters a sense that the political heavyweights are actually having a conversation with them in their living room. Sort of.

"It was a way to communicate to my supporters and my network in a very simple, cost-effective way," Mr. Obama said.

Is it pressuring other candidates to do the same? Not quite.

"I might tap dance on my Web announcement," Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. said when asked if he would consider making his 2008 plans official -- again -- on a Web video. The Delaware Democrat punctuated his joke with a little fancy footwork.