the buzz log

The resurgence of political song and satire, that's what. While tech pundits—and most recently the Associated Press—like to call citizen-created ads and viral videos a "new form of campaigning," political creativity has existed as long as government—and almost certainly before.

In the pro-Obama camp, two videos gathering search momentum are "Barackula" and "The Empire Strikes Barack." The first goes back to Obama's Harvard days and explores his fledgling fight against vampiric bloodsuckers through song and dance. Blaxploitation allusions aside, the Harvard students' riff is catchier than it is subtle, although the girlfriend twist casts an interesting light on Michelle Obama.

The "Empire" mashup is even less subtle (casting Clinton as Darth Vader), and will probably be destroyed by the jedis of jurisprudence before more men between the ages of 35 and 54 can seek it out.

Searches for satirical Clinton clips aren't as plentiful. (And really, it's hard to rhyme with Clinton, or Hillary, for that matter. Pillory? Conciliatory?) Video-related Clinton searches have focused on "tina fey hillary clinton" and "hillary clinton snl," ever since the SNL alum lauded the candidate's, er, strong female attitude back in February. The latest "saturday night live hillary clinton" resurgence, though, revolves around backpedaling worthy of a superdelegate.

The most viral video of all, though, may soon belong to Clinton, herself. She recently sent out a thank-you to fundraisers that some have read as her farewell aria. Regardless, however the race shakes out, there will be a song to sing and a video to go along with it.