Not courted yet

I think I’ve pretty well established that when it comes to American politics, I can fairly be described as “liberal”. So when I saw a news story headlined “Democrats court liberal bloggers”, and knew no Democrat had courted me, I felt positively jilted.

Okay, I didn’t really, but what a spectacle it must have been: A parade of Democrats were seeking the support of bloggers, not long after they courted the support of YouTube users, something Republican candidates can’t seem to even grasp (like Mitt Romney confusing YouTube with MySpace. I mean really, how out of it can you get?)

Were the candidates pandering? Some probably were. Was it a legitimate campaign stop? Well, would you want to run the risk of pissing off liberal bloggers?

The writer of the article, the AP’s Ron Fournier, displayed a temptation to veer toward right wing perspective: “Plunging headlong into the Internet era, all seven candidates fought for the support of the powerful and polarizing liberal blogosphere…” What, like right wing bloggers aren’t polarising? Despite that, the article was generally balanced, especially in observing:

Clinton is viewed skeptically by the the blogging community, mainly for her history of hawkish views on Iraq. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of Daily Kos and spiritual leader of the convention, said Clinton still might be able to mitigate her problems… "We may decide she's not our first choice, but she's not a bad choice," he said.

Maybe so. But this is one non-courted liberal blogger who will criticise any candidate of any party if I feel they deserve it. But I’ll also praise them when they’re right. There I go—being all polarising again!