ABSTRACT
Since the creation of the Internet, there has been a seemingly never-ending number of books and analyses about the role of the Internet in politics. Many of these books fail to keep in mind that the behavior of elites—the well-educated and politically active individuals who often represent the peer group of these authors— is not generally representative of the behavior of the public at large. Pundits and scholars alike have remarked that 2008 appeared to be a revolutionary year in the use of the Internet in political campaigns, hut few have systematically examined the role of the Internet in participatory politics for the average voter. Instead of relying on case studies, this article uses nationally representative survey data from 2004 through 2008 to determine how the general public uses—or does not use—the Internet in their political lives. The authors then consider whether the patterns of use for this technology appear different in the November 2008 general election cycle. They consider this issue in the context of increasing polarization among some fraction of the American electorate and in the policy platforms of elected officials.
