2012 presidential candidates

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty speaks during a Tea Party rally on April 16, 2011, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Republican Tim Pawlenty, "T-Paw" to his supporters, has increasingly tied himself to the new crop of grass-roots activists in the 2012 presidential campaign

2012 presidential candidates
Candidates and contenders have embraced the Internet to far greater degrees than previous White House campaigns
NEW YORK:Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.
Welcome to The Social Network, presidential campaign edition.
The candidates and contenders have embraced the Internet to far greater degrees than previous White House campaigns, communicating directly with voters on platforms where they work and play. If Obama's online army helped define the last campaign and Howard Dean's Internet fundraising revolutionized the Democratic primary in 2004, next year's race will be the first to reflect the broad cultural migration to the digital world.