The YouTube Wars Meet Official Washington

YouTube will probably always be ruled by amateurs, but that isn't preventing organized politics from getting in--finally--on the phenomenon of user-submitted video. Within 24 hours of each other, both the Democratic and Republican national committees released video potshots on the popular site.

The DNC's video, "Total Recall," is a three-minute compilation of C-SPAN clips of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales delivering variations on "I don't recall," presumably in response to his role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. The RNC's video, "Reid's White Flag," intersperses quotes from prominent Republicans and military leaders defending the war in Iraq with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying, "This war is lost," a statement that won him considerable criticism last week.

But as we pointed out a few weeks ago, the Democrats still have a distinct upper hand when it comes to Internet activism. As of noon today, the DNC's video had been viewed over 15,000 times, while the RNC's video had been viewed fewer than 200 times.

--Chris Wilson