. >> republican christine o'donnell, so let's not leave out the democrats. probably remember this campaign. >> we're going to south dakota, and oregon, and washington, and michigan, and then we're going to washington, d.c. to take back the white house. yeah! >> alex we're talking about how the digital space can take these viral videos and help a candidate. we're seeing main stream media take things off of the internet and use it, and amplify the message. but can it also derail important conversation. because the media gets so hyperfocused on quirky things? >> i think the answer is yes. the extent to which a singular gaffe can derail a campaign is beautifully illustrated by howard kaine. we know that really did make a difference to his campaign, fairly or not. there is a real cacophony of voices now. and if you have the ability to pick and choose which media you choose and which media you want to see, that does enable a certain amount of [ inaudible ] which leads people to see more things which they often -- basically support what they already believe in. i t

party leaders have been intent to avoid the 2010 and 2012 races when extreme candidates like christine o'donnell and sharon angle cost winnable seats not to mention todd aiken and richard murdock whose comments about women's reproductive systems led to them being known as the rape candidates. ernst military career and folksy background was supposed to inoculate her but the longer it goes on the less main stream she seems. she's open to impeaching president obama and called him a dictator before walking it back. she cosponsored a personhood amendment to the iowa constitution to give human embryos full rights at conception. she told the des moines register she has reason to believe there were weapons of mass destruction in iraq. new video shows she believes states can nullify federal law. >> you know we have talked about this at the state legislature before, nullification. bottom line is, as a u.s. senator, why should we be passing laws that the states are considering nullifying? i mean that is -- that's, bottom line, is our legislators at the federal level should not be passing those laws. and we