I’ve been posting about the way that Democratic congressional candidates have been using YouTube to spread their television advertisements to a wider audience. Putting the ads online makes them permanently available, rather than ephemeral, as they appear on TV itself.

Unfortunately, the candidates have for the most part gotten stuck in the old 30-second sound bite format, introducing issues in a short, glib fashion, as a brief TV ad allows. YouTube allows much longer videos, but it hasn’t gotten into the heads of most Democratic candidates to make use of that greater time.

Carol Shea Porter, a Democrat running for Congress in New Hampshire, does not fall prey to this shortness of vision. For her campaign’s video on YouTube, she talks directly to the audience, with no nonsense, for over four minutes. It’s an approach that shows a lot of respect for the voter, and some intelligent recognition of potential for YouTube campaigning.

Thanks, Ms. Porter, for getting serious.