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Agreed - the level of discourse on many internet forums is quite often disappointing. But you can't judge the potential of the internet by a few dorks (myself included) who have nothing better to do with their time than posting comments on blogs. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
(You say that few have commented on the obviously more important and substantive question of Georgia/Russia. Well, as of 12:07 EST I saw that there were 228 comments to Glen Greenwald's interview with Professor King. Moreover, the Georgia/Russia conflict is not something that lends itself to a pithy one line or 1 paragraph comment. The interview was several paragraphs long. Maybe I am slow but reading it took a long time and I know that formulating a coherent, articulate letter would take even longer.)
Getting back to the internet. The Georgia/Russia conflict is a perfect example of the good that can come from the internet. Before the internet we got most of our news from US media outlets. Now thousands of media outlets are available over the internet. Yes, you have to sift through a lot of drech but you can ferret out the information for yourself.
Technology and the internet are not going away. It is v. important that we harness these for good. Unlike, McCain's website, Obama's website devotes a lot of space to the internet and technology. Obama recognizes that the internet offers the potential to improve government and bring it back to the people. Some examples: Google for government: Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to track federal grants, conracts, earmarks, and loans online; before signing any non-emergency bill, it will be posted for public review and comment on the White House website for 5 days; require Cabinet officials to hold periodic national broadband "townhall" meetings to discuss issues before their agencies. Are all these things feasible? Will they make a difference? Who knows? But the point is that Obama knows that the Internet could be a tool for good governement.
The technology of radio broadcast FDR's "Fireside Chats" to thousands of Americans. These Chats were one of the ways he got us through a major crisis.
