Hillary "pulls off major coup" hiring Peter Daou, of Salon's Daou Report

[flpoljunkie]

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/sen_clintons_courts_blogospher.html

Clinton Courts Blogosphere

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has pulled off a major coup in her evolving relationship with the liberal blogosphere.

She has hired Peter Daou, author of the Daou Report (a blog on Salon.com) and the director of blog operations for the 2004 presidential campaign of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Daou will join Clinton's senate race fundraising committee, "Friends of Hillary."

In a post announcing his new job, Dauo said that "as a true believer in the importance of , I'm thrilled about Senator Clinton's interest in building this bridge with the online community and I intend to do everything I can to make it as productive as possible." As a "blog advisor" to Clinton, Daou will seek "to facilitate and expand her relationships with the netroots," he said.

Asked about Daou's hiring, Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Clinton, said only: "We are delighted to welcome Peter aboard. He will be a huge asset."

more...

[acmejack]

1. Right, that will change my mind

I will forget about "dates certain", flags a burning, etc...

[SeaNap05]

46. Major coup for who?

Another blogger is not going to make much difference. How is this a major coup? Little extreme don't you think?

[flpoljunkie]

2. Daou writes in Salon about "closing the triangle with Hillary Clinton."

http://daoureport.salon.com/synopsis.aspx?synopsisId=414d1caa-a172-4ac1-a55e-19c937ce3dc1

Daou Report

by Peter Daou

Closing the Triangle with Senator Hillary Clinton: Since launching the Daou Report in December 2004, I have written extensively about a ‘triangle’ comprised of the traditional media, the political establishment, and the blogosphere. I have argued that “closing the triangle” (i.e. enhancing the connection between the three entities) is imperative for the Democratic Party and the progressive netroots. My thinking on this issue is informed by my experience directing blog outreach and online rapid response for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. Working out of the Washington, D.C. headquarters, I viewed the political landscape from two distinct perspectives: as a blogger and as a political consultant. Living in both worlds exposed me to the tensions on either side. In the year and a half since the campaign ended, I’ve learned more about the media side of the triangle, working with Media Matters and others to highlight conservative misinformation and false narratives in the press. My aim has been to seek ways to build bridges between the Democratic establishment, the media, and the blog community.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post: I have been offered – and accepted – what I believe is a unique opportunity to help close the triangle: joining Senator Clinton’s team as a blog advisor to facilitate and expand her relationship with the netroots. There are endless possibilities for Clinton-netroots collaborations, from Net Neutrality to the Privacy Bill of Rights to voting reform to so many other critical issues. Digby, one of the progressive blog world’s sharpest writers, said this: “Last week Hillary introduced what I think should be a primary plank of the Democratic Party: A Privacy Bill Of Rights…. Hillary said in her speech the other day: ‘privacy is synonymous with liberty.’ This is correct. We give it up far too thoughtlessly in our culture and its going to come back to bite us if we don't wake to the fact that big powerful forces are poking into our lives in unprecedented ways and will use the information they get to force us into little boxes they design.”

The past few months have been a challenging period in the growth of the blogosphere, with the YearlyKos convention marking the “arrival” of the blogs as a political force (at least in the eyes of many mainstream reporters and political operatives). But YearlyKos has also touched off a series of harsh attacks against the netroots and specifically Daily Kos and its founder Markos Moulitsas. As blog influence continues to grow, we can expect more intense fire directed at the blogosphere by those who have a vested interest in undermining it.

One of the standard practices of blog detractors is to use the comments of the anonymous few to tarnish the genuine passion and sincerity of the many millions who log on to express their views and to connect with other denizens of the Internet. The “angry left” is a stereotype used to pigeonhole left-leaning bloggers, but the truth is that far from being a bastion of ideological rigidity, the blog world is a hard-hitting and free-wheeling discussion among Americans of all political stripes. These attacks won’t weaken the community; on the contrary, this nascent power base is only beginning to make its presence felt. It will reach fuller potential with the participation of Democratic leaders and responsible reporters.

As a true believer in the importance of the medium, I’m thrilled about Senator Clinton’s interest in building this bridge with the online community and I intend to do everything I can to make it as productive as possible. And as a New Yorker, I look forward to aiding Senator Clinton's re-election efforts this November.

Peter Daou

[Totally Committed]

3. Jesus, himself, could not get me to support Hillary...

nice try, though... Wonder who she'll get next? I hear Kos is "controlling" us these days... think he's next on her list of "gets"????

TC

[SoFlaJet]

5. I put on my tin foil hat

every morning and get MY marching orders from Kos-don't you?....ahem

[Totally Committed]

9. Oh, absolutely...

:tinfoilhat: <<<< Kos Progressive Blogger Sychophant -- an unthinking, kool-aid drinking soldier in his Fight Against, well, everybody who isn't us.

:rofl:

TC

[SoFlaJet]

11. LOL

where'd you find that tin foil hat emoticon TC?

[Totally Committed]

14. It's on the DU Smilies Look-up Table!

I laugh every time I use it.

TC

[Lost4words]

4. balderdash

:puke:

[William769]

6. Hillary Clinton

Thats my girl!

[acmavm]

7. And anyone who's been paying attention to her record and

her blathering will care because?????????

[flpoljunkie]

8. We need to know who has hired whom in the blogosphere and who's for sale.

[Totally Committed]

10. That's a good point...First Jerome from MyDD was hired by the Warner Camp

and now Daou is in the Clinton Camp. You're right, we need to keep this information front-and-center.

TC

[wisteria]

19. Good point! I will be keeping my eyes open. n/t

[skipos]

12. FWIW, most people don't pay attention.

That's why millions of people voted for Bush.

[Totally Committed]

13. Very very very true!

Excellent point.

TC

[IndianaGreen]

15. Hiring a new PR firm won't help when the product sucks!

The same here, no blogosphere guru can change the fact that Hillary sucks!

Only Hillary can change Hillary, and she has been on this neocon/neolib warpath for so long that for her to change now it would be seen as hypocrisy.

[Totally Committed]

16. She's made her bed.....

Only Hillary can change Hillary, and she has been on this neocon/neolib warpath for so long that for her to change now it would be seen as hypocrisy.

The ULTIMATE flip-flop.

"... no blogosphere guru can change the fact that Hillary sucks!"

HILLARY

IS

UNELECTABLE


TC

[bedazzled]

17. she can hire all of the kerry campaign advisors she wants

maybe that'll influence him to get someone who knows what they're doing this time around.
i wouldn't vote for hillary if she was the last "democrat" on earth.

[IndianaGreen]

20. Hillary should hire Donna Brazile and Bob Schrum

just to make sure that no one we care about hires those losers.

[karynnj]

22. She's already got Begala and Carville

who have gigantic egos and seem to think snark answers everything. She also has her husband. I'm not that convinced that his political advice is as good as his charisma, charm and presence. From his side, he advised Kerry to concentrate on the economy and not speak of terrorism or Iraq and he advised Kerry to back the ant-gay amendments. Both of these would have doomed Kerry's campaign to a landslide loss. Either his advice is less good than speculated or he intentionally wanted to sabotage Kerry.

[IndianaGreen]

23. I am of the school that thinks Big Dog wanted Kerry to lose

The Clintons' ambitions are only dwarfed by Bush's sense of self-importance.

[iconoclastNYC]

38. I agree.

The Clintons sould thier souls to Wall Street years ago. They are not to be trusted.

[Fabio]

28. I dont disagree with your point

but do not think Bill Clinton's motivation in giving poor advice was nefarious. Rather, I believe he gave advice about what he would do in the situation and what he had done in previous instances -- his ability to connect allowed him to lead this country primarily based on generating empathetic feels between himself and the electorate -- then he delivered in their pocketbooks and with a peace dividend.

When it came to giving advice to JK, I suspect that his ego unconsciously didnt let him adapt his advice to another person's perspective that suited that person's strengths and personal history.

[karynnj]

40. I agree with you

I think of the two possibilities, I think that his advice simply wasn't that good when he was not the candidate as you suggest.

[Pithy Cherub]

35. Big Dog knew that both his wife and Kerry voted for the Iraq War.

He was trying to keep the heat off and to focus on the domestic agenda. I think in his heart Bill KNOWS that was a very bad vote. The only one trying to find the sweet spot between bad choices and dead wrong is Hillary. Kerry, at least, is finally in repent mode, Hillary is still believing the original IWR sin was correct.

Hillary is not even within hailing distance of candidates I would support.

[karynnj]

37. Unlike Kerry, who spoke out before the war - Clinton didn't

It is more likely that Clinton is one of the "Democrats I trusted" who argued that Saddam was a threat. I seriously doubt he knew it was a bad vote. Kerry and Harkin were likely the most reluctant people to vote for the IWR.

[Pithy Cherub]

43. The Bill Clinton advice to Kerry

was more prominent after the primaries to focus on domestic issues. Especially since that was the reason Edwards was added to the ticket. Clinton wanted the focus off of the vote and onto a domestic agenda he perceived to be the strength of the party. As reluctant as Kerry was, the right vote should have been with his conscience and a No.

Because Kerry, Edwards and H. Clinton were part of the aye voters on the IWR they were all to quick to comply. That vote was pure awful and will live in infamy, rightfully so. Bill Clinton is a savvy enough politician that he was betting that the war would be over and they could go on to other things. The only person who hasn't gotten it yet that it's a millstone around their neck is Hillary. Peter's new job is to help us "forgive" Hillary on that - no chance on my part.

[demdiva]

49. As much as Bill wants to support Hill

I really don't think he intentionally gave JK bad advice, although I think you're right ...it is good he didn't take his advice. If anyone understands the implication of what Bush has done since taking office it's Bill Clinton. Bush has messed up so many things he had right.

[calimary]

30. And don't forget the fabulous Mary Beth "Don't Respond to the Swifties"

Cahill. Don't respond to the swifties. Take the high road and they'll go away in a few days and it'll all blow over. Don't worry. Nobody'll believe them. If you respond it'll only give them credibility. Be above it. The voters will see!

Yeah... SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRE.

THANK YOU, Mary Beth. Now go get bent. Oh yes, and Donna "Michael Moore is a traitor" Brazile, too. She embraces the Dark Side? She can just go straight to Hell with them. Same thing for Bob "republi-CON-Lite" Shrum. LOVE his track record, too, don't we? HOW MANY elections has he lost for us by advising his clients to move to the "right."

[windbreeze]

32. Perhaps if enough people say this.....

Hillary, et al, will believe it??? unless she's blind to everything except the power trip that is...

I promised myself that there would be no such thing as an "any body but" vote for me again...that it HAS to be about voting for the "Best Man for the Job" and Hillary hasn't convinced me she is.....It would be nice, if our "party" began to pay attention to how we feel about the candidates THEY want.....maybe if they stopped shoving people down our throat, and let Democracy play it's part, we'd actually choose the best candidate w/o their help..but it seems they don't trust us to pick the "right" one....
wb

[iconoclastNYC]

39. Never trust anything that slithers out of the DLC swamp

No Clinton, No Bayh, and No Warner. They are all corporatists.

[rucky]

18. Who's carpeting the blogosphere with astroturf?

is anything authentic anymore?

[Rageneau]

21. Why not hire someone who knows something about the web?

If Daou was Kerry's 'blog advisor,' he was as incompetent as Shrum or Brazille were. The Internet's lefties were all over Kerry for running a stupid campaign. Bartcop screamed and screamed about it, warning that Kerry was going to lose if he didn't change tactics. And so he did.

Did Daou see what Bartcop did and warn Kerry? Obviously not.

Will he see the obvious for Hillary? Probably not.

[Fabio]

24. I totally disagree

..based on insider knowledge..

Peter Daou is no incompetent, quite the opposite. He was, and remains, as forward thinking, intelligent and proactive as any staffer on the Kerry Campaign. In most campaigns, including the Kerry Campaign, the best ideas dont necessarily perculate into the central strategy or are not internalized by management, at least not on the timelines necessitated by the campaign itself. Its like any organization or business -- open management and recognition and support of employee talent wins the day. In the best campaigns, new ideas, messages and strategies are absorbed and implemented quickly if they merit it.

[emulatorloo]

26. Daou is topnotch - you should review his work on Salon EOM

[IndianaGreen]

34. Daou cannot turn a sow's ears into a silk purse

which is exactly what he has to do with Hillary.

All of these high priced consultants that Hillary is hiring shows that her campaign strategy for 2008 is to continue to triangulate the issues.

[emulatorloo]

41. true, but maybe he can get rich tryin'

He is a smart guy and seemed like a nice guy when he posted here.

[blm]

27. bartcop watched the MSM version of the campaign - he didn't know that

corpmedia PURPOSELY omitted Kerry's counters to the swifts from their coverage, even when he personally did a speech aimed directly at them in midAugust 2004.

Why people claim they understand the media's complicity, and then still rely on them for their own views is just weird to me.

[Fabio]

29. yeah, let's see Bartcop run any campaign first

before he talks about how much everything sucks.

same for Kos, too.

[karendc]

42. Excuse me,

But you will have to demonstrate some proof that the Kerry Blog was anything other than the hardworking, messaging in-and-out, JK front and center operation I knew it to be.

The Kerry Blog and the strong adult community that made it up, was an ASSET.

How do I know? As a blog moderaotr, I read every one of those 500,000 comments. I passed the good ideas along, and some of those were implemented.

Also, fyi, Fabio is correct that Peter was a focused and committed staffer. He was not, however, the blogmaster. He did advise on blog strategies and he worked with the administrators of the blogs/forums outside the campaign (including this one, I believe) on message out and message in.

Dick Bell was the blogmaster, and if you google him, you will see that among other things, he got the Dem party online. You have not heard of him because he is a quiet warrior, and the Kerry Blog was first and foremost about John Kerry.

In full disclosure, he is also my husband.

[kerrygoddess]

44. Must agree with Karendc

As someone who was on the Kerry Blog from Day 1 until the last day, who also was a moderator (and frontpage writer), I worked very closely with Dick Bell, the Blogmaster from JohnKerry.com. The Kerry Blog was an asset to the Kerry campaign. If people missed that they weren't involved.

[karynnj]

47. I absolutely agree

Especially for those of us not in a swing state, the Kerry blog really helped us follow the election. The biggest problem was that it was addicting. :) The hope, enthusiasm of the campaign was infectious. Just the fact that we saw when Kerry and all were on CSPAN or other media would have made it worth while but it was far far more than that.

I know it turned me from some one who had already chosen Kerry in the primaries to someone who thinks that Kerry could have been (and may still be) an incredible President. A large part was who Kerry was - but I doubt I ever would have seen him for who he really is without the blog comments and the TV I saw.

Dick and you and the other moderators did a fabulous job keeping all of us informed. It was amazing how positive and inspiring the blog was - I know it made me volunteer locally - which I hadn't done since I canvassed for McGovern. I can't imagine how tough it was to keep the blog positive and to insure nothing embarrassed Kerry. All of us who read it religiously owe all of you enormous thanks.

I also wonder how many people who passively became involved because of the blog are now actively involved for Democrats in 2006. I doubt the number is insignificant.

[blm]

48. You are judging Pete with little knowledge of the actual work he did.

Gee...and so sorry he didn't take Clinton's advice - Clinton who told Dem pols don't attack Bush at the convention, and CLINTON who told Kerry to support anti-gay amendments in the south. (advice he wouldn't take)

Newsflash for you and bartcop - Machine fraud..... Kerry probably received 5 million more votes than was shown...which means he received more votes than any candidate in history. It was Clinton and Terry Mac's DNC who didn't have a strong enough Dem infrastructure in place to get Gore and then Kerry to take their rightful place in history. WHY was the Dem infrastucture in crucial states allowed to be ignored and weakened since 1997?

[AlGore-08.com]

25. Wow! This is the greatest rebranding since the launch of Crystal Pepsi!!

/sarcasm

[hatrack]

33. Unless, of course, you count 1985's "New Coke"

File under "Z" for "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ".

[Pithy Cherub]

36. or Green Ketchup... from a certain ketchup family n/t

[WA98296]

31. This does nothing to change her REPUBLICAN views.

[lildreamer316]

45. Oh, There's a suprise. n/t