The "My.BarackObama.com" Blogs

One of the interesting things that Obama's campaign is doing is giving a personal blog to anyone who wants one. It is a My.BarackObama.com site blog. My concern is that there are already thousands of blogs that have been claimed by god knows who, and god knows what they are saying and what they will say. So, Obama supporters need to get the word out now that these blogs and their views are not endorsed by the campaign. The campaign is allowing its website to be a public repository for thousands of various viewpoints. There are many nasty, tasteless human beings in the country that will say anything without serious consideration, and some of these people might end up posting an entry that could be damaging to Obama if the media covers it as if it came from his campaign site. So, the campaign and his supporters need to be ready for this when it happens, and it will happen.

This from Ben Smith:

I'm biased, just having spent too much time online, toward Obama's approach here, but it'll require the media to report on the site like what it is -- a loosely organized community, not a vehicle for official message. (The Post actually gets it about right today.) MoveOn.org took a very unfair hit when somebody contributed a video comparing Bush to Hitler to an open contest; Obama may do the same.

It strikes me, though, that the appropriate way to cover a site like this is the way you cover a campaign rally. Attendance is voluntary, and one crazy doesn't speak for the campaign. At the same time, it's fair to characterize sentiments that run across the community.