So I went to Governor Mark Warner's blowout bash at the Stratosphere last night in Las Vegas, and amid the piles of free sushi, "Blogoritas" and "Kos-mopolitians," I tried to discern what makes him the "Internet candidate." Yes, I know he was a success in the cell phone business, and then ran a technology venture capital fund. Yes, as Virginia's governor he was supportive of the state's high-tech industry. And, yes, he's supportive of net neutrality.

But all I saw at the Stratosphere was an old-fashioned politician spending something like $70,000 on a garish party to soften up a constituency. (Apparently, his PAC needs to spend the money before the end of the cycle, one of his staffers told me, which was hardly a convincing reason for the conspicuous display.)

"The blogosphere is the new town square," Warner likes to say, but I can't see what--if anything-- he is doing that suggests that is anything more than a nice-sounding but hollow phrase. What does it mean that the blogosphere is the new town square, Governor Warner? Are you talking about wikis for citizens to re-invent government, or connecting citizens to each other in new ways? If we're holding a virtual town meeting, are you prepared to be bound by an online vote?

I know, I know--it's too early to jump to conclusions. But I've now had two opportunities (first at PDF and now here at YearlyKos) to ask Markos Moulitsas why he thinks Warner is THE candidate who gets the Internet, and both times his answer is, essentially, "He hired Jerome." Now I think Jerome Armstrong is a smart guy and deserves a lot of credit for starting MyDD.com and nurturing a group of savvy bloggers there. And I respect him for his having spotted Howard Dean's national potential earlier than almost anyone else. But I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a new version of the Bob Shrum primary, where we're supposed to be impressed by the campaign with the best consultant.

Last night, in the casino of the Riviera, surrounded by banks of electronic armed bandits, I bumped into Markos and asked him to give me one example of what Warner was doing that made him so net-savvy. "Look who he's hired," he answered. I pressed him for details. "You'll see." And then he made fun of other campaigns who think that having a blog will make them cool. Well, so far, all I see about Warner's nascent campaign is that not only does he have a blog, he has a cute video popup.

Introducing Warner at the Stratosphere party last night, Markos insisted that he hadn't made up his mind about a 2008 candidate. But then he grinned, gestured at the fancy surroundings, and said, "This is a great first date!"

Warner spoke briefly. "I love bloggers. You're changing America. And you#039re here to say." My pal Marc Cooper said it reminded him of being at an Iowa campaign event, only instead of hugging hogs and fawning over farmers, Warner was buttering up to bloggers. "I've got to vote for him, now that I've had the chocolate fountain," a Drupal developer pal of mine said to me this morning.

Is Warner the Internet candidate? Count me an agnostic. I ain't seen nothing yet.

Tags: mark warner yearlykos jerome armstrong markos moulitsas

Technorati Tags: jerome armstrong, mark warner, markos moulitsas, yearlykos

Campaigns & Elections | Conferences & Events | Marketing | Vendors & Consultants
Micah L. Sifry's blog | email this page | delicious | digg | technorati