While we're on the subject of politics... Obama and his campaign have found yet another way to harness the power of the internet. PR-challenged companies take note! The campaign recently launched http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome/, a site dedicated to dispelling untrue rumors circling him and his campaign that he feels could be damaging. Historically candidates have largely ignored rumors, hoping that they would eventually go away. For some (John Kerry anyone?) that proved to be especially costly.

And by creating a site, he's using the exact same method to dispel rumors as is often used to start and propagate them, the internet. Web 2.0, as outdated as the term already is, has created a world where even the smallest of rumors can quickly spread like wildfire and take on a life of their own. Look at the Jeremiah Wright scandal. What quietly started out as a few videos making the rounds on YouTube was quickly picked up by the major news stations only to become THE controversy of the Democratic Primary.

Here, Obama is hoping to prevent a swift-boating by attacking the rumors head on and in a public forum. A pretty shrewd move considering the fact that he's often considered stronger on the offensive than he is on the defensive AND that there are a number of rumors circulating on the internet that could prove to be damaging to his campaign.

Besides making a clear distinction between the lies and the truths, the site also gives you the ability to easily "spread the word" to friends. It even allows you to import contacts from your address book (you can choose from the following: yahoo.com, aol.com, hotmail.com, gmail.com, msn.com, lycos.com, mac.com, and fastmail.fm).

By highlighting the rumors, Obama does run the risk of perpetuating them and giving them credence, but assuming he does a good enough job on the site of dispelling them, the risk is marginal. The consequences of not are far more dire.

The question now is, can companies somehow leverage this approach to control their public image, and if so, how? And furthermore, can Obama succeed? Given his campaign's track record so far, I'd have to say, "Yes he can".