Wikipedia has revolutionized the way procrastinating college students do shoddy research. WikiCandidate 2008 aims to do the same thing, except with a fictional political process. Designed as a project by some Cornell students, it offers readers the ability to collaboratively design an ideal presidential candidate. They must have missed the memo... Barack Obama's already in the race. He's very real. Possibly the messiah. Drink the Kool Aid already!

Just like Wikipedia, anyone can edit the issue platforms, news stories, biography (see above for photo), and other information about the WikiCandidate. Then they can sit back and watch as someone else erases the work and pastes over it with gobbledygook! Politics is about compromise, after all. I believe somebody said that once.

We have nothing against a site that aims to become an interactive, constantly evolving think tank of intellectual debate, policy, and campaign strategy. It's an interesting idea that's gotten some oddly gushy press, but so far falls short on follow-through. Thoughts on the Iraq war? WikiC doesn't care to comment. Global warming? No dice. Health care plan? Viagra for everyone! Maybe it's because anyone who cares enough about politics to actually participate in such a grand experiment is hyper-dialed into the real election. You know, the one happening outside of Plato's realm of ideas and forms.