15 viral moments from presidential campaigns since the dawn of social media

At the 2012 Republican National Convention, the world was introduced to "Eastwooding."The Washington Post/Getty Images

• In the modern landscape of presidential campaigns, few things can help or hurt a presidential candidate more than having a viral moment.
• In 2008, Tina Fey turned a viral Sarah Palin interview into a viral sketch on "SNL."
• During a 2012 speech at the RNC, Clint Eastwood famously addressed an empty chair as if President Obama was sitting in it.
• After Obama's "You didn't build that" comment went viral in 2012, it became a Republican slogan.

Few things can help or harm a candidate's chances of being elected president more than a viral moment.

Although the internet went public nearly 30 years ago, in August 1991, it can be argued that our modern definition of internet virality didn't start happening until somewhere right between 2005 and 2008 when Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube were starting to hit their strides.

As a result, the 2008 presidential election had many viral moments and was considered by some to be the first election won online. With that in mind, here are 15 memorable viral moments from presidential campaigns since 2008.