Tracy Russo and Mark Soohoo argue yesterday at the Personal Democracy Forum 2008:
Russo's opinions (readable in articles here and here) can be summed up in the following quote from the second link:
Far beyond the party lines and the political divide, I believe we need a leader who has vision - not just an understanding of who we are, but a clear idea of what we can be and where we can go. Understanding how the internet is changing our world and the potential it holds to further revolutionize our daily lives is a critical part of that.
John McCain has stated multiple times of his understanding of computers: "I am illiterate."
I believe most people in the technology industry would agree that the lack of functional knowledge McCain has about the potential of computers and the internet is a problem for someone who seeks to be the President. Even ignoring much of Russo's arguments, which convey McCain as too out-of-touch, there is a question to whether McCain would be able to fulfill his responsibilities without an understanding of the internet. How can McCain even legitimately take a position on things like Net Neutrality, other telecom regulations, or any other technology-related legislation when he doesn't have a basic understanding (never mind an understanding of the subtleties and technical aspects) of the things he is making decisions on.
I believe this issue to be relevant, the only question I have is: will the mainstream media ever cover it?