Politics

The opening sentence of NBC's "First Read" this morning, on last night's debates:

FIRST THOUGHTS: Nothing changed

Thanks Chuck, Mark, and the rest of the political unit. In less than 2 seconds, you confirmed my take on last night -- which means I don't have to read the remaining four pages that you spent the morning pulling together, making sure that people who paid far closer attention to the debate didn't pick up on something important I missed.

Hmmm....

[slideshow]

(h/t to Mark Stencel)

I like Barack Obama. I've been impressed by his campaign, and will more than likely vote for him in November. But I'm not impressed by his FISA position -- and besides, this is just funny:

image via TechCrunch

From Michael Gerson's op-ed in today's Washington Post:

One Pentagon source (who didn't want to be identified for fear of sounding like a suck-up) calls [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates "extraordinarily quick and extraordinarily even" and praises his "sense of humor and candor behind closed doors."

A belated reminder for a panel discussion I'm moderating tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 26) at Google's DC offices.

A quick summary and list of the panelists follows. It looks to be a full house, but last-minute attendees are welcome.

Much like their mass-market cousins, publishers that target DC decision-makers are scrambling to adapt to a rapidly changing digital landscape - trying to capitalize on "web 2.0" trends while also protecting their existing reader bases and business models.

Indiana Alumni Magazine -- November/December 2007

The profile I wrote on former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., is available below as a PDF. I'll add the full text here in the page as soon as I can dig up a file with the final edits.

"Media Future Now" is an informal group that I've been helping to get started. The focus is on bringing together DC media types for monthly discussions to compare notes and share insights on the rapidly changing world of publishing -- especially when it comes to online and the insider politics & policy market.

The next meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the New America offices. Details are below, and at http://mediafuturenow.blogspot.com/ . All are welcome -- just please RSVP!

Tuesday, Jan. 15 -- 12:15pm to 1:45pm

John McCain's daughter Meghan has launched her own (sorta) campaign blog: McCainBlogette.com, a "fresh perspective on what is sometimes perceived as a stale and boring process."

Meghan and her two co-bloggers plan to post from Dad's campaign bus about "musings and pop culture on the campaign trail." I'm all for pop culture, so this is already better than the Rommney brothers' groupblog. Beyond that, though, I'm mainly just scratching my head.

National Journal's Technology Daily has published an impressive package of articles on the role tech policy is playing (or isn't, as the case may be) in the 2008 race for the White House.

Good stuff. And unlike the vast majority of insider coverage produced by Tech Daily and the other publications of National Journal Group, these articles are posted outside the subscibers-only wall -- no four-figure annual subscriptions required.

Jeff Jarvis, posting at both PresVid and his own BuzzMachine, has some interesting thoughts on the CNN-YouTube presidential debates. My favorite quote:

...the YouTube debates are a crack in the wall of control of elections, politics, and media. Bring your chisels.