But all of this misses the larger picture: liberal bloggers were invited to meet with the former President of the United States to talk about policy initiatives and the Democratic party and politics going into the November elections.

What does that mean?

Call me a cynic (you wouldn’t be in error) but I believe all this means is that the big dog has a wife who wants to be the Democratic nominee in 2008 and you (popular liberal bloggers) are a means to that end … nothing more.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I never voted for Clinton. However, I did so knowing that I lived in a state where those electoral votes were safely in his column both elections (also, I did not vote for either Bush or Dole but rather wrote in Jimmy Carter both times in protest – I gave him Pat Schroeder of Colorado for a running mate in ‘96).

I will also admit that his presidential performance (Lewinsky issues aside) was better than I anticipated.

If he was alive today, he would most certainly be a blogger!

Thank you Karen Allen, my thoughts exactly!

Not only would Thomas Jefferson be a blogger, but I think it is safe to say he would have been most enthusiastic about blogging! I think I remember reading that he invented his copy machine because mail took so long to be delivered, and he wanted to remember what he said in his own letter when he received a response.

I can just imagine his delight at having an device that provided him with virtually instant communictation!

How he found the time to do everything he did never ceases to amaze me. Reminds me of some folks here at FDL, come to think of it.

TAKE IT UP WITH CLINTON.

Let’s face it, we frequently point out the lack of diversity of the Republicans, and probably wouldn’t hestitate to point out, in a picture of George Bush meeting an all-white bunch of bloggers, how white and exclusive the Republicans are. Had a right-wing blogger said that we should have called up Rove or Tony Snow and had him set us straight, we would have laughed.

To avoid this kind of thing in the future, the next big publicized sit-down must not look this way, and I suggest to you and the other big-name progressive bloggers, for your own reputations, that you just tell Bill that if he and Hillary put together another all-white blogger gathering, in Harlem at that, that you won’t come. If it’s two or three bloggers it’s OK, but twenty white people? Come on.

Oh yes, I know, there were some gay people, and that’s great. But the party has a real problem; it just assumes that it can count on minorities voting Democratic even though they are not given a seat at the table.

Also, I understand that many bloggers objected to the off-the-record format. Fine. Peter Daou, if you are reading this, you could hold two sessions, and tell the bloggers, like Steve Gilliard, who don’t believe in going off-the-record with politicains, that they are welcome to attend the on-the-record portion.

As a mammary-free practitioner of bloggery who lives in the NYC area and wasn’t invited to visit

Ahhhh I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one heartened by the Rude One in our midst…having RO post on FDL is like a fine cabernet and the best dark chocolate…or a rock opera…or pearls and leather. It’s the perfect unexpected combination.

Of course, it’s not that dissimilar to the reaction Peter Daou got when he announced we was going to work for Hilary Clinton. Lots of accusations of selling out, etc., etc.

Does anyone think that this meeting would have happened (whether or not Clinton reads blogs) if Daou had not been on the scene? He deserves some appreciation.

;-}

Count me in !