The "I invented the internet" of 2008

The following comments, I believe, could officially cost John McCain the election:

Q: What websites if any do you look at regularly?

Mr. McCain: Brooke and Mark show me Drudge, obviously, everybody watches, for better or for worse, Drudge. Sometimes I look at Politico. Sometimes RealPolitics, sometimes.

(Mrs. McCain and Ms. Buchanan both interject: “Meagan’s blog!”)

Mr. McCain: Excuse me, Meagan’s blog. And we also look at the blogs from Michael and from you that may not be in the newspaper, that are just part of your blog.

Q: But do you go on line for yourself?

Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need – including going to my daughter’s blog first, before anything else.

While most people are simply mocking these comments and pointing out inaccuracies (Politico and The Drudge Report aren't blogs, RealPolitics is RealClearPolitics, etc.), I think these comments represent something more significant.

In 2000, Gore's "I invented the internet" comment (which he never actually said) became viral because it fit into the narrative about Gore - that he was a pseudo-liar who was prone to exaggeration. Today, that phrase and maybe "lockbox" are the two things most people remember about the 2000 Gore campaign.

The question is, will this conversation become equally shortened (To "I'm learning how to use the internet," perhaps?) and become a catchphrase to fit into a large media narrative labeling McCain as too old/off-his-rocker/senile to be president? This narrative hasn't really started to develop yet, but I could easily see it happening. The key part will probably be what the more campaign-oriented New York Times columnists (particularly Maureen Dowd) and the satirists at The Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Saturday Night Live decide to do with it.

In summary, don't be surprised if, come October, voters cite McCain not being able to use the internet as a reason to not vote for him.