Comments on: Gary Hart launched a weblog.

Gary Hart launched a weblog.

PoliticalJunkie — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 06:14:39 -0800

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.

By: mkelley

mkelley — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 06:37:18 -0800

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.

By: thedude256

thedude256 — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 06:37:48 -0800

Hmm... Chances of any republican candidate beating Bush... nil.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 06:43:16 -0800

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?"

By: jonmc

jonmc — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 06:44:58 -0800

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

By: MrBaliHai

MrBaliHai — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 07:10:39 -0800

Don't slap yourself too hard, Jon. I heard worse Hart jokes back in the day, most of which involved the words "eating Rice".

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 08:23:42 -0800

uh, thedude, he's a democrat.

By: SpecialK

SpecialK — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 08:37:23 -0800

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.

By: VulcanMike

VulcanMike — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 09:54:38 -0800

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?"

By: tpl1212

tpl1212 — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:50:10 -0800

I wonder if he's donated to moveable type...

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 13:33:51 -0800

Here's a great column Hart wrote recently: A Detour From the War on Terrorism.

By: Zurishaddai

Zurishaddai — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 15:07:19 -0800

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?

By: wendell

wendell — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 15:22:41 -0800

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".

By: Zurishaddai

Zurishaddai — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 19:16:17 -0800

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.)

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 19:54:28 -0800

Hart speaks against war in Iraq

By: owillis

owillis — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:00:17 -0800

Dear Mom, I am in Gary Hart's blogroll. And you said this thing meant I would never see the sun.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 06:49:08 -0800

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]

By: katy_

katy_ — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 12:30:22 -0800

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

By: kindall

kindall — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 13:07:41 -0800

I give it a month.

By: ook

ook — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 10:46:19 -0800

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.)