Throughout the time that I followed the Blog for America (the Dean presidential campaign official blog), I also followed DailyKos closely. DailyKos provided a somewhat more objective view of the race, more statistics and polls, and some more serious political, historical, and theoretical context.
Blog for America, though, should be celebrated for what it accomplished and demonstrated-- especially in terms of inspiring political involvement and action, building community among progressives who had mostly felt isolated, pioneering creativity online, and of course raising buckets of cash.
Below are my reflections on the first Presidential campaign blog.
The high-quality of the written postings and the thoughtful comments by bloggers have made the Blog a place for readers to turn to regularly. Zephyr Teachout's writing is so inspiring; some of her Blog postings left me thinking she was a creative genius. Mathew Gross wrote some amazing summaries of the day's news with incisive commentary. Here's a posting by Zephyr that captures the spirit of the campaign in many ways (it also provides some foreshadowing):
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001561.html
One of my favorites is a late-night thread where bloggers brainstormed what to shout at a flash mob at the Space Needle in Seattle, heikus about the campaign for a booklet Linda in Iowa offered to print, and recipes for the Virtual Steak Fry. The creativity in the Blogger community practically jumps off the screen. Here's the link:
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001423.html
I enjoyed reading the Governor's policy statements and statements from press conferences. They always seemed right on. I found myself shouting "Yes!" regularly.
The set of postings about the Seattle stop on the Sleepless Summer Tour were so exciting. When the reports came in about the number of people at the rally, the Blog went crazy. We were frustrated that we couldn't get the live webcast to work (although we had been able to watch the live webcast of the Portland rally earlier in the day), but the photos of the crowd were incredible. Here are some of the links:
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001206.html
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001207.html
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001214.html
I remember when a guest blogger (Annatopia?) wrote a posting late last summer that this wasn't just a campaign, it was a "mooovement." I hadn't thought of that before, but once she wrote it, I realized that I'd been waiting to be part of a movement my whole life (I was born too late for the Civil Rights Movement).
A big thanks to the bloggers who transcribed or otherwise reported line by line what was happening at debates or TV interviews! Even though I have cable TV, sometimes I preferred to "read" the debate on the Blog with accompanying commentary.
That serious postings were mixed randomly in the thread with songs and poems made the Blog compelling reading.
We all loved it when something one of us posted to the Blog happened the next day. I can recall at least 20 of those. It's possible it was just a coincidence and great minds thinking alike, but it sure seemed like the staff was really listening to the bloggers and we really had a voice in the presidential campaign. That was an incredibly motivating reason to read and post to the Blog.
I was also moved by the extent to which we became a community. Though most of us never met (other than locals at Meetups, or the lucky ones of us who met in Iowa or other states), we cared about one another. We cared if one of us got sick, if someone's relative was ill, or if someone was upset by something that happened with the campaign. We hashed things out, challenged one another, and consoled one another. I remember a blogger posting plans to visit a city and another blogger offering a place to stay. I remember campaign staff getting stuck in cities and bloggers offering rides. I felt I had this new nationwide family. I still do.
Kate O'Connor posted the most unbelievable story about the trip from the Albuquerque debate back to Vermont. My jaw was on the floor while I read the story. It's definitely a campaign trail classic. Here's the link:
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001832.html
In general, I loved reading about the staffers-- their stories, their thoughts, seeing their photos. I've always wanted to work on a campaign, but never been able to fit it into my life. The Blog made me feel like I was right there-- at the heart of the campaign. Thank you! Here's a link with a view of the staff it's hard to imagine any other campaign sharing:
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001211.html
I don't know if Joe Trippi, Mathew Gross, or others thought about this ahead, but it seems like the campaign offered 100,000 of us (or more) a class in Political Campaigns 101, and maybe 102 and 103. Those of us who followed the Blog regularly learned about tough campaign choices, and grappled with the choices ourselves in the Blog comments. Trippi mentioned in his comments at last month's convention in San Diego that there were times when he found it challenging to tell bloggers what was going on because he knew opponents and the media were also reading the Blog. I can't say whether or not it was strategic for winning the nomination, but I wouldn't be surprised if the campaign not only inspires a lot of people to run for office, but also inspires a lot of people to manage campaigns. I know a few already are doing that.
As we move from DFA 1.0 to DFA 2.0, I hope Blog for America is preserved somewhere because I think it's going to be an historic artifact. At this point, every presidential candidate has a blog, and many candidates for local races have blogs. But none will be the first, and future blogs may not be as revealing, as exciting, or as creative. I hope they will be, but it remains to be seen...
Thank you Blog - blog staff and blogger community! Happy anniversary!