U.S. Presidential Candidate Vilsack Seeks Patience, Feedback As He Learns To Vlog

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a declared Democratic candidate for president, is launching an Internet campaign on iTunes, MySpace, YouTube, and, of course, though a personal campaign Web site. What sets him apart from other candidates is his open admission that he is not the most tech-savvy candidate and his appeal for feedback.

"I want a chance to visit with you using the technology of today and tomorrow," he says in his MySpace video. "I'm just learning this process. At 55, it's a process that you have to learn, and, the folks watching this today, I suspect you probably have learned it a lot faster, a lot easier than I have. What I hope you'll be able to do is to give me feedback."

Vilsack said he believes the Internet and social networking will allow candidates to reach out to more voters and become a "better candidate and a better president" after that.

"I'm anxious to use this blogging opportunity to develop a relationship with you," he said in a webisode of his YouTube video blog. "I may not be able to meet every single American face to face, but with this technology we can certainly have quite a conversation and I'm looking forward to it."

He published the video under a Creative Commons license and asked voters to be patient with him as he tries to master the new technology, though he undoubtedly has plenty of help from his campaign.

Former senator and former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards tells his MySpace viewers that he is happy they can see who he is and how campaigning works when he is not on stage.

"I believe this has the potential to change the way people do this [campaigning] in a very good way," Edwards said as the jeans-wearing candidate leaned back in the seat of a private plane in a recently released webisode on his MySpace pages.