Salon: "How Much is that Blogger in the Window?"

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/06/12/yearly_kos/

How much is that blogger in the window?

In Las Vegas, Democrats court the netroots as if it were the AFL-CIO.

By Michael Scherer

June 12, 2006 | LAS VEGAS -- If the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were held tomorrow, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner would easily win the contest for the best party planner. To date, no other candidate has rented an Elvis impersonator to perform for supporters in a circular viewing station 1,000 feet above the Vegas strip. And no other candidate has tried to ply voters with the deadly trifecta of a vodka-chilling ice sculpture, a chocolate fondue waterfall, and free roller-coaster rides.

<>The controversy over Warner's generosity has continued online, where bloggers debated both the merits of the candidate and the questions raised by Warner's relationship with some prominent bloggers. For more than a year, Warner has employed Jerome Armstrong, a close friend, co-author and mentor of Marcos Moulitsas Zúniga, the proprietor of Daily Kos. Moulitsas, who has not endorsed any presidential candidate, repeatedly praised Warner for hosting the Friday night party and being an early endorser of the conference. "We are all going to have quite a bit of time to make up our minds," Moulitsas announced at the Stratosphere. "I've got to say, though, as a first date, this is pretty cool."

<>At the Stratosphere party, Warner kept to boilerplate language, including his murky position on withdrawal from Iraq, as he greeted bloggers in close quarters. He talked about "transformative change as opposed to incremental change," and trumpeted his red state pedigree. "I am from Virginia." A reporter for the venerable Progressive magazine made the rounds asking bloggers if they knew "what Warner stands for."

As the host stood onstage, dressed in a fedora and dancing between the Blues Brothers, Joe Howell, a New York blogger who designs video games by day, tried to make sense of it all. "I am agnostic," he said about the 2008 presidential race, "and I am waiting for Mark Warner to take a stand." But then Howell offered some words of wisdom to any presidential candidate looking for netroots support. "You can't appeal to people who can't make up their mind with someone who can't make up his mind."