Day: August 26, 2004

Overheard at Kerry campaign headquarters:
“OK, so what the hell do we do now?”
“How about B?”
“That was Plan A, moron.”

Jeff Jarvis has been one of the few voices the blogosphere for our participation thus far in the 2004 campaign. Jeff is a stand-up blogger (and person, I assume, although I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him in ‘real’ life), but I think he’s missing the boat slightly when he says he’s “been a bit disheartened in recent days by the incessant gotchaism of some blogs and more commenters in our new medium.”
Jeff doesn’t point to specific examples, so I have no idea whether he includes TTLB in his disappointment, although he’s made clear he takes a dim view of the Swift Vets controversy in general.
I’d argue that we in the blogosphere have two roles: first, to try to bring stories that aren’t getting attention into the public eye, and second, to ensure that the stories that are being widely reported are covered accurately and completely. We try to change the focus of the debate, and we try to improve the quality of the debate.
Focusing on the Swift Vets story (although Jeff specifically did not limit his comments to it), it seems undeniable that the blogosphere played some role in moving the story into the public focus. But to be frank, blogger triumphalism aside, I think that was going to happen anyway. The Swift Vets had a compelling story, and it was only a matter of time before Big Media walls crumbled and they received a great deal of attention. Whether focusing on their story was a good thing or a bad thing is, I think, a matter for every voter to decide for themselves. I think it is relevant, I believe it is safe to say Jeff thinks it is not.
But now, with the Swift Vets story in full public view, we’re in our secondary role: improving the quality of debate. And I have to say, I think our performance has been absolutely stellar. Blogs like Captain’s Quarters, BeldarBlog, and others have been devoting serious effort to the story, and arguably doing more hard-core research than professional journalists seem willing to devote. And of course I would hope my own contributions in researching 527’s, campaign financing, and other topics will be viewed as useful, substantive contributions to the debate.
So, to Jeff, I’d say: cheer up, friend. The new media which you’ve done so much to foster is young, and we’re passionate, and perhaps sometimes a little too eager to go for the quick kill. But overall, I think we’re doing a damned fine job of adding to the public debate — and we’ll get better from here…

I remain rather puzzled by the fact that the Kerry campaign has not posted an official announcement of the FEC complaint they filed last Friday. The fact that it cannot be found on the Kerry-Edwards site has led me to suspect that perhaps it wasn’t actually filed after all.
So, to attempt to clarify matters, I sent the following inquiry to the Kerry-Edwards campaign this morning:
To John Kerry and the Kerry-Edwards Campaign:
I publish the weblog ‘The Truth Laid Bear‘ , and have recently been covering the controversy surrounding the Swift Boat Veteran ads, 527 organizations, and your campaign’s response to these issues.
It has been reported in the media that the Kerry-Edwards campaign filed a complaint with the FEC on Friday, August 20th, alleging coordination between the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 527 and the Bush-Cheney campaign.
It puzzles me, however, that I can find no official mention of this filing on the Kerry-Edwards campaign website (see here).
In the interest of clarifying the record, I would appreciate the following:
1) A confirmation from the campaign that the FEC complaint was officially submitted to the FEC on Friday, August 20th (or, if it was not, when it is expected to be submitted).
2) A copy of the actual FEC complaint. As I am sure you know, the Bush-Cheney campaign submitted a similar complaint alleging collusion between the Kerry campaign and 527’s; they have put the actual complaint and other documentation online here. I urge you to do the same, and allow voters to review the complaint for themselves, and make up their own minds as to the validity of your claims.
Although I am a simple ‘blogger’, I would appreciate your treating this request with the respect you would accord to those in the professional media. Any response received to this message may be published on my weblog.
Thank you…
-N.Z. Bear
The Truth Laid Bear

I sent the inquiry to press@johnkerry.com, and submitted it as a general comment on the campaign website. If you are similarly curious, I urge you to take a moment and do the same. As always, I would ask that you be courteous and polite (and feel free to cut-and-paste my message); no need to get obnoxious with the folks answering the Inbox. Perhaps if the campaign receives enough inquiries, we’ll actually get to see the mysterious complaint…