Privacy a Presidential Campaign Issue?

Unless there is a Chernobyl-type privacy breach, probably not in 2008.

But, most definitely in 2012 -- preceded by plenty of heat in the post-election Congress.

This NYT editorial on Internet privacy that keys off of the recent Google noise (Street View, Privacy International, EU appeasement and DoubleClick) is a good indicator of the issue bubbling out from under the surface and into the mainstream conversation...

Privacy is too important to leave up to the companies that benefit financially from collecting and retaining data. The F.T.C. should ask tough questions as it considers the DoubleClick acquisition, and Congress and the European Union need to establish clear rules on the collection and storage of personal information by all Internet companies.

It should be noted that, almost exactly a year ago, many industry players, including Google, eBay, Sun, HP, etc. collectively called for uniform federal rules to protect consumer privacy on the Internet.