As an anti-telecom immunity group takes the top slot on MyBarackObama.com, we ask if we're about to witness a case of 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss;' road trip! College Republicans hit the trail, driving cross-country without laying down tire tracks in Democratic districts; a congressional candidates XML-inspired t-shirt inspires a flurry of fundraising; and much, much more.

Do millennials need to start strengthening their collective action muscles?; the anti-telecom immunity group on MyBarackObama.com is on track to be the social-networking site's top group later this week; Wesley Clark makes use of his Facebook status line to stand his ground on comments regarding John McCain's national security chops; is Newt Gingrich's Drill Here, Drill Now group poised to become the conservative equivalent of Move On?; and much, much more.

While one high-profile blogger argues that the time has past for advocates and activists to shape the trajectory of their preferred general election candidates, others disagree and are self-organizing to show it; a consultant on the right argues that conservatives need to start thinking about the Internet as both play and work; and much, much more.

As Barack Obama's support for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that includes telecom immunity causes, in the words of one blogger, "a shift in the zeitgeist online," can his online fundraising hold up?; John McCain unveils The Lexington Project, a focused push on energy independence; we round-up some additional coverage of PdF '08; and much, much more.

Here's the clip of Andrew Rasiej interviewing Elizabeth Edwards at home via Skype video Monday at PdF2008, when John Edwards happens to drop in. They discuss the impact of the Internet on politics 2008. Edwards says it's the only reason Barack Obama isn't taking public financing," noting that it's given him a huge fundraising advantage "over Bush"--a slip quickly corrected by Elizabeth, who you can hear chortling in the background. Andrew tells John that the "internet community really loves your wife," to which he responds, "I know, so do I!" And then Elizabeth comes back on to say goodbye, noting, "PdF is enormously important in building this community--thinking about how we can use it [the net] is enormously important."

Nothing against Barack Obama, but we’d be mistaken to consider his politics a complete break from the past, a renaissance in participatory government, or the realization of an Internet-enabled “open source” democracy. He’s pretty damn good, don’t get me wrong, and he may just represent the closest thing yet to a GenX, post-boomer, anti-sentimental and a-mythic candidate for president. But there are a few ways in which his candidacy also reinforces some of the branded, celebrity-based, and charismatic techniques of traditional politics. To make the most of his candidacy and, hopefully, his presidency, we’ll have to distinguish one from the other.

We're pleased to announce a first for the Internet Election of 2008: Starting tonight, a designated representative of both of the major presidential campaigns are going to participate in a free-wheeling debate on technology and government, moderated by Time magazine blogger Ana Marie Cox and channeled via Twitter.

The McCain campaign will be represented by Liz Mair, the online communications director of the Republican National Committee. The Obama campaign will be represented by Mike Nelson, a professor at Georgetown University who served in the Clinton White House under Vice President Gore on tech policy issues.

The debate is an initiative of Personal Democracy Forum and is being launched in tandem with next week's annual PdF conference, which is taking place Monday and Tuesday at Rose Hall in NYC.

A YouTube-enabled video retrospective highlights Barack Obama's past statements on the public financing of presidential campaigns; Newt Gingrich's online petition in favor of domestic oil drilling tops a million signatures; LinkedIn's Answer tool is applied to politics; a congressman is streaming live video of his colleagues during today's FISA vote; and more.

Barack Obama announces his decision to opt out of public financing in a video sent straight to supporters; McCain launches his first Facebook app: a video tour through the "Straight Talk Express" bus; a new Google maps gallery mashes up political data and geography; Capitol Words offers a daily extraction of Congress's most popular word; and more.

Obama hits the one millionth Facebook supporter mark and we wonder who gets the digital toaster; an effort to Google link McCain to some unfavorable press reports success; the battle between bloggers and the Associated Press continues, with the AP laying out a price scale for excerpts; a new Off the Bus feature makes it trivial to get access to campaign press calls; and more.