Almanac: At the Capitol

Thanks to MDE and MnPublius for hosting a bi-partisan happy hour for bloggers. We were there to work (and alas not participate in happy hour) but it was so refreshing to see active, engaged, partisan and non-partisan people talking, laughing and getting along. The perception is that people on the left and right hate each other. Talking to people face to face makes it much harder to say or maybe even write mean things. It's so easy for people to fire off inappropriate and cruel comments on the web. That's much harder to do in person. Creating these personal connections is key. It's fun to see the faces behind the words we all read. Some of these blogs are consumed by thousands of people a day. No one I talked to was exactly sure where blogs are going, but most seem to agree sky is the limit — and many also said that non-partisan gatekeeper journalists are still important (thanks). Look for video on my Campaign Notebook Friday on Almanac.

Here's an update on why some, especially left-leaning, bloggers did not show up. Centrisity said "Bottom line, MikeDE is NOT, repeat NOT a blogger. Many of us struggle with giving him any credibility or even hinting that he is 'one of us.' Mike's effectiveness is geared toward him being perceived as an independent blogger, allowing for him to push MNGOP talking points and research while providing cover for the party." Joe Bodell from Campaign Report wrote to me that "I try to keep the differences between my public persona and my flesh-and-bones self to a minimum. I'm simply not comfortable spending leisure time around a group of people in which you can find individuals who have called me 'unpatriotic' and much, much worse in their own corners of the blogosphere." Clearly there are some strong feelings in this important election cycle.