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February 12, 2007BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Those Boring Campaign Blogs
When Amanda Marcotte agreed to blog for 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, she told her readers to expect "real commentary on issues that matter" under the "Rule of Amanda." But she also acknowledged that she knows "how the game works" and is "willing to play nice" as a campaign blogger in ways that are not apparent at Pandagon, where she gained her reputation as a blogger.
Daniel Drezner isn't so sure Marcotte's commentary is all that "real" -- and with good reason. "Who cares about campaign bloggers?" Drezner wrote. "They are little more than good PR stylists." (Hat tip to Instapundit.)
Ann Althouse agreed that boring commentary is an inevitability when bloggers go to work for campaigns. "I guess it's too bad when a good blogger gets a job like this," she said. "But bloggers are often people who need jobs and want to get into politics. It's their choice, but it is a choice to be boring."
But Zack Exley, who worked on the Internet team of Howard Dean in the 2004 presidential campaign, thinks he has a solution: Candidates should blog themselves instead of hiring people to do it for them.
"This is a whole new medium, a whole new channel for your own voice," Exley wrote. "You don’t ask someone else give your speeches or appear in your TV ads. So why have someone who barely knows you writing personal messages in your name that go out to millions of your most passionate fans and volunteers?"
That's a good point -- and it's especially relevant after the scandal involving Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, another blogger who is working for Edwards. Campaign bloggers were on a leash before the scandal, and you can bet that they will be on a shorter one now.
Most of them will voluntarily restrain their rhetoric for fear of losing their jobs if they cross the Marcotte/McEwan Line -- and those who don't may not have jobs for long.
On the other hand, Exley is living in a fantasy world if he thinks politicians are going to be much more open on their blogs than their hired hands. That won't happen as long as bloggers unrestrained by campaigns parse every word for hidden (and often imagined) meanings.
Posted by Danny | 01:29 PM
Comments
"You don’t ask someone else give your speeches or appear in your TV ads. So why have someone who barely knows you writing personal messages in your name that go out to millions of your most passionate fans and volunteers?"
You do ask someone else to write your speeches and TV ads. The probability of sock puppetry is enormous. I can see it now... "Well, yes, someone else wrote it but he/she typed it onto the blog him/herself".
Michael B. | 02.12.07 05:19 PM
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