The "What Went Wrong" articles have been pouring out for weeks. In analyzing the Clinton primary defeat, a few consensus themes are calcifying a definition of political failure:

• Too much entitlement
• Bill gone berserk
• Underestimating the opponent
• Feuding campaign leaders
• Short-sighted electoral strategy and financial planning

It might be more interesting, and more instructive, to consider the simple equation of victory that enabled Obama to run through the heavy Clintonian scrimmage line of political heavyweights and score the nomination. Here, consensus wisdom talks of superior oratory, focus on change, natural appeal to youth, separation from dynastic branding, and powerful inspirational rhetoric.

But all these factors are tied together in the Obama campaign's understanding and application of Web 2.0 principles, especially the long tail and social networking. In this primary campaign, as in the competition between old media and new media for cultural mindshare, the battle was between blockbuster tactics and long tail tactics. The currency in this battle was threefold: voter involvement, delegate commitment, and dollars.

When Obama talked about "old politics," he might have said "short tail politics" or "blockbuster mentality." From the start, the Clinton campaign was founded on blockbuster resources: a few huge donors and a few huge states. Like a book publisher, Clinton & Co. planned on a few high-volume products underwriting the low-profit assets like caucus states and small-time donors.

In contrast, the Obama strategy adopted long tail realities, recognizing that low-profit assets can match high-profit assets in the aggregate ... if you have enough of them. And to aggregate masses of low-profit asset points, the campaign turned to the primary Web 2.0 business model: social networking. The Obama campaign site is basically the Facebook of a political movement, whose apps and widgets encourage extended networking, deeper involvement, and harvesting small donations.

In Peter Baker's and Jim Runtenberg's NY Times analysis, the authors state, "The [Clinton] campaign was built on the assumption of overwhelming force." That's true, and in the blockbuster model the campaign was, in fact, unmatchable. But in this primary season, as in the extended sunset season for many blockbuster media institutions, the long tail principles of social networking and granular values won the day. And probably changed politics forever.