Gary Hart launched a weblog.

March 28, 2003 6:14 AM

Gary Hart launched a weblog. "From time to time, I'll post my thoughts on current policy matters, as well as share some stories about where I'm traveling and the people I'm meeting. I'll also ask some of my friends to share their thoughts as well. I cannot promise to be as skillful at this as many of those who have made the blogger universe such an important part of the internet. However, I'm committed to using the Internet as a vital tool to engage people on critical policy matters and the future of our country." Hart joins Howard Dean as the only other 2004 presidential hopeful with a weblog.
posted by PoliticalJunkie (19 comments total)

Good post, but why not link to Hart's actual weblog, instead of Political Wire?

Oh and he's using Movable Type! Very cool indeed.
posted by mkelley at 6:37 AM on March 28, 2003

Hmm... Chances of any republican candidate beating Bush... nil.
posted by thedude256 at 6:37 AM on March 28, 2003

Ahhh, good ol' Gary Hart. I wonder if he'll mention that phone call he made to Ted Kennedy during that weekend in Bimini:

"OK, Ted I've got her in the water, now what do I do?"
posted by jonmc at 6:43 AM on March 28, 2003

Oh man, taht was awful. But how often do you get to use a Gary Hart joke?

**slaps self**
posted by jonmc at 6:44 AM on March 28, 2003

Don't slap yourself too hard, Jon. I heard worse Hart jokes back in the day, most of which involved the words "eating Rice".
posted by MrBaliHai at 7:10 AM on March 28, 2003

uh, thedude, he's a democrat.
posted by PrinceValium at 8:23 AM on March 28, 2003

Not only is he using MoveableType, but he's using Meetup to organize supporters in various cities... boy, someone in his campaign really Gets It.
posted by SpecialK at 8:37 AM on March 28, 2003

Dean is using BlogSpot/Blogger and Meetup. Luckily Dean and Hart are different enough that it won't come down to questions like "Are you a Blogger voter or a MovableType voter?"
posted by VulcanMike at 9:54 AM on March 28, 2003

I wonder if he's donated to moveable type...
posted by tpl1212 at 10:50 AM on March 28, 2003

Here's a great column Hart wrote recently: A Detour From the War on Terrorism.
posted by homunculus at 1:33 PM on March 28, 2003

What I find most striking here is Hart's list of links to other bloggers. This is very normal for a blogger but very weird for a politician. It's interesting to see Hart affiliate himself (in some sense?) with Talkleft, Calpundit, Agonist, etc. I don't think you'd find those links on most national politicians' webpages (case in point: Dean's blog). Could we see a new kind of political smear based on whom you link in your blog?
posted by Zurishaddai at 3:07 PM on March 28, 2003

And don't forget to check out the Comments to his first entry. Makes some of our NewsFilter/IraqFilter/CrossFilter threads pale by comparison. "Welcome to the blogosphere".
posted by wendell at 3:22 PM on March 28, 2003

It appears the/a actual blogenthusiast behind this is Kevin Thurman...

(He has the job of trying to put a lid on all the nastiness in the comments. Most recently: Comments are shutting down for the next hour while I am working and cannot monitor them. They will be back up soon.)
posted by Zurishaddai at 7:16 PM on March 28, 2003

Hart speaks against war in Iraq
posted by homunculus at 7:54 PM on March 28, 2003

Dear Mom,
I am in Gary Hart's blogroll. And you said this thing meant I would never see the sun.
posted by owillis at 9:00 PM on March 28, 2003

Congrats, Oliver.

I can't help but wonder how much of that is to do with politics, and how much a shared appreciation for a certain nubile young singer...[/obvious]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:49 AM on March 29, 2003

Not only is he using MoveableType, but he's using Meetup to organize supporters in various cities... boy, someone in his campaign really Gets It.

let me take this opportunity to link to my dear friend w0zz
posted by katy_ at 12:30 PM on March 29, 2003

I give it a month.
posted by kindall at 1:07 PM on March 29, 2003

Based on the first couple days, I dont think the campain Gets It. (Or perhaps they Get It all too well.)

The posts so far are bland and contentless; the commentary is policed to within an inch of its life; and there's not much to suggest that he has much actual involvement with the site -- it feels to me like this is not so much Gary Hart's Weblog as it is Gary Hart's PR Firm's Weblog. Perhaps it's asking too much to expect the candidate to, y'know, actually interact with the users, but this feels like pure, clean astroturf to me.

(The owillis link sure gave me a doubletake, though. Wild.)
posted by ook at 10:46 AM on March 30, 2003