A new voter

The 2012 elections might surprise a lot of experts who expect Old Media influence on the outcomes. A 38 year old woman concerned with the future of her children might use Google search to obtain a better understanding of her political choices. A decade ago she would still be dependent on major network news, newspapers or a major magazine to get an understanding of the economy and government policies that affect the economy. This woman now has access to many different viewpoints and not all of them favorable to the modern liberal viewpoint. Google has done an incredible job of providing good search results, so voters are exposed to diverse news reports and economic analyses.

A 28 year old black lawyer who has never questioned the Democrat Party might decide his automatic support is being taken for granted, so he uses the search term "African-Americans and the Democrat Party" and runs across an article written by Thomas Sowell which opens his eyes to a different take on blacks, their political affiliations and possibilities for change.

The point is that Old Media no longer has control over political information, and the American Mind has access to not only the modern liberal take on politics and economics, they also have access to conservative thought, libertarian thought and so forth. This explosion of information and the fact that 24 hour news is making political news more available might bring out more people to the polls with a better understanding of their options and more hope that their vote can make a difference. This change in how we get information and the variety of the information itself could confound experts and create results very few expected.