By Laurie Sullivan

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took political muscle to a new medium on Saturday by announcing her intention to run for the 2008 presidency on the Internet.

The Internet’s power to make and break politicians has been amply demonstrated in recent years. But the fact that candidates are venturing online to announce breaking news demonstrates the importance the Internet will have in reaching and connecting with potential supporters in 2008.

On Monday, Ms. Clinton will begin holding live chats online, she said in a video.

in a video

“Let’s talk. Let’s chat. Let’s start a dialogue about your ideas and mine because the conversation in Washington has been a little one sided,” Ms. Clinton told viewers in a video on her web site. “With a little help from modern technology, I'll be holding live online video chats this week starting Monday.”

Washington

Within hours of launching her bid for the presidency, Ms. Clinton’s campaign web site had attracted 10,000 messages of support and 2,200 submissions for its blog contest. It also had signed up people to its email list at the rate of 100 a minute, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal

Democrats on the Net

And Ms. Clinton isn’t the only Democratic candidate relying on the Internet to connect with voters. The online video explaining her intent to form a presidential exploratory committee followed similar news posted to the web site of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

It also follows a video by another major presidential contender in the Democratic race, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. The web site for Mr. Edwards, the party’s 2004 vice presidential candidate, offers documentary-style video of him informally chatting about the impending campaign.

John Edwards

On Sunday, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson went online in a video message recorded in both English and Spanish. Mr. Richardson made headlines in the tech sector last year when he announced a partnership with Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic to build a spaceport in New Mexico for space flight.

New Mexico

Indeed, the Democratic presidential hopefuls aim to connect with tech-savvy entrepreneurs. Ms. Clinton comes to the campaign with name recognition and the advice of one of the most successful modern politicians, her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

But there’s not doubt that Ms. Clinton’s decision to enter the race online by conducting live Internet video chats is geared at winning the favor of bloggers and Internet activists.

Ms. Clinton will try and tap into the Internet by posting video and blog messages to persuade voters to trust a woman as commander in chief in a time of war and uncertainty. It’s not unlike Microsoft’s and Advanced Micro Devices’ attempts to win favor over influential bloggers with expensive laptops and puzzles in the sky (see Vista Buzz Builds on Puzzles).