Transatlantic Cable: Vote 2000 - internet politics in the US

Politics is an odd business. And as I've pointed out in previous columns it's even odder here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. And right now it's even odder than usual because we are in the run-up to a presidential election, with both of the candidates from the major parties (currently running even in the polls) touting for votes. Given this is the digital age, it's no surprise the high-tech card is being played frequently.

Take, for instance, Republican candidate George W Bush's recent claims that Democrat Al Gore is guilty of "analogue thinking in a digital age, 28K thinking in a broadband era, an eight-track ideology in an MP3 world," adding "I support a ban on all internet taxes, so the growth of the internet is not slowed by the heavy hand of government."

Of course, Al Gore has a long history with the internet, being the one who invented it. According to the press, that is. What Gore actually said during an interview was "during my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet". While that's certainly an exaggeration (something that Gore has come increasingly under fire for doing), it's some way from claiming to be the one behind the whole thing.

And interestingly enough, Al Gore has attracted some heavyweight support from the people who did create the internet, such as Vint Cerf and Robert Khan. They jointly sent a letter to the press defending Gore, claiming that "the Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high-speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world". Gore has also obtained the backing of 420 prominent internet industry figures, including Marc Andreesen and Apple boss Steve Jobs.

Meanwhile, George W Bush hasn't been backward about coming forward with his high-tech credentials, claiming that 440 high tech executives are supporting him, including people like Michael Dell, Jim Chambers and Scott McNealy. Bush also seems to have raised more money: according to the website opensecrets.org, he had managed to raise the healthy sum of $972,199 from computer and internet companies by early September, while Al Gore only managed $448,554. Both sums will have no doubt have increased significantly, as both candidates have been frequent visitors to fundraising dinners in Silicon Valley.

But apart from the usual campaign rhetoric, there have been some surprises. For one, both candidates seem to be at least slightly sympathetic towards Napster. On the debate website www.webwhiteblue.org, one person asked: "Where would your administration draw the line regarding freedom to access content versus copyright infringement?" - an obvious reference to file sharing services like Napster, which is currently fighting for its life in a federal court.

You might think that both candidates would have come down on the side of the record companies (especially bearing in mind the large campaign contributions entertainment companies make), but that's not quite the case.

Gore replied that he thought Napster is "a terrific innovation, but I think we've got to find a way to reconcile this technology with artists' rights. If an artist writes and sings a song, and someone else benefits from it without compensating the artist, the artist is hurt".

Bush also seemed strangely non-committal, claiming that "the Napster case typifies some of the thorny questions we'll face as our nation shifts from a bricks-and-mortar economy to one where our most valuable commodity is information and creative content". In other words: "I've no idea, but I suppose I'd better throw in a few buzzwords that my advisors taught me."

Senator Eugene McCarthy once said: "Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think it's important." Both leading candidates have so far shown the necessary combination of smarts and stupidity by claiming to have their finger on the digital pulse... but without actually demonstrating any real understanding of what it's all about.