Gannon wasn't Talon's only talent. In fact, it could be argued that Charles Mahaleris was both more productive and more effective. He got a head start on Howard Dean while he was still just the Kennebeck County Republican Chair way up there in Maine.
Although most of what Mahaleris wrote for GOP USA and Talon News has now been scrubbed, one of this pieces got picked up by the
Though the re-translation doesn't make much sense, the original isn't bad.
Who Will Be the ' Blog ' President
By Charles Mahaleris
Talon News
August 11, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Nine Democrats hoping to become the 44th President of the United States of America are criss-crossing the country hoping to build support. Some are also criss-crossing the Internet and " blogging " their adventures as they go.
Blogs are personal accounts published on the World Wide Web. The first ones began to appear online in 1992, but the 2004 race for the White House appears to be the first time so many major candidates for higher office have utilized this online diary.
Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) is a recent blogger among the pack. His first blogs were daily reports of where he was traveling. " We have had quite a full day, starting at the state fair where I saw the butter cow and butter hog (which is actually a Harley Davidson). At the pavilion I saw Holstein cows, a breed with which I have a very special relationship, " Graham reported on Thursday.
On Saturday, Graham changed approach and used his blog to attack President George W. Bush. " Today we discovered that the trailers found in Iraq that the president claims were used to produce weapons of mass destruction were actually being used to produce hydrogen for weather balloons, " Graham said.
" The American people need to have confidence that our president will tell us the truth. It seems George Bush is finding it increasingly difficult to either tell the truth, or listen to the truth tellers, " Graham added.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) has published an online diary as well. Lieberman is not as regular a blogger as others. His last posting was on July 22 when he toured a plant in Silicon Valley. " [ T ] oday I visited Nanosys, a nanotechnology development company in Palo Alto. They ' re doing some fascinating work -- literally building the microchips of tomorrow -- with all kinds of practical applications, from homeland security to miniature computing machines, " Lieberman described to online supporters.
" In a line that reminded me of ' The Graduate, ' one of my tour guides called nanotechnology " the next plastic. " Its potential is that great, " Lieberman said.
Others are blogging with the best Internet master. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean ' s blog is located at BlogforAmerica.com in a self-spoof of his official campaign website of DeanforAmerica.com.
Most of the postings on Dean ' s blog are from campaign supporters and not the candidate himself. " This campaign is about building a new American community -- have you met anyone new through the Dean campaign? Write about it on this thread. How has your community expanded? And what else is on your mind?" posted Zephyr Teachout at 7:47 p.m. on Saturday night. There were 27 replies an hour later.
Those comments ranged from exuberance about Dean and his candidacy to a free flow of ideas such as the post from AnnW who was urging writers to sign a petition she was circulating calling on former President Jimmy Carter to get involved in efforts to block the introduction of computer voting in order to prevent voter fraud.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) not only has a campaign blog, but also a campaign chat feature on his website.
Kerry ' s blog, although still working out technical challenges, features postings from campaign workers updating supporters on the senator ' s activities. " We ' re on our way driving to New Hampshire this morning to visit with the Kerry Korps of volunteers in the headquarters and go door to door talking with New Hampshire voters -- the grassroots politics that John Kerry cut his teeth on when he came home from the war in Vietnam. Right now John Kerry is in the front seat talking with Shanna Williams from Chicago, Illinois -- she ' s a local Kerry supporter who signed up on johnkerry.com and brought her friends to the Brehon Pub for the campaign ' s party after the AFL-CIO forum -- all that and she ' s getting married this fall. Congrats Shanna from our campaign, " the Kerry blog reads.
Not all of the candidates are utilizing blog technology, however. The Bush-Cheney website, which the candidate has indicated is a temporary site, does not yet have interactive features aside from the traditional volunteer opportunity or donation space.
