Elizabeth Edwards and the Blogosphere

[RamboLiberal]

From Political Insider. http://politicalinsider.com/2006/12/elizabeth_edwards_and_the_blog.html

While John McCain and Howard Dean have laid claim to being the first Presidential candidates of the Internet era, there's probably never been a prominent national campaign figure as connected to Internet political debates as John Edwards' wife Elizabeth. A perfect example of this can be seen in a blog response Mrs. Edwards recently posted on Larry Handin's archpundit.com site.

As noted in a previous insider post, Elizabeth Edwards took exception to some sharp criticism from Handin by posting a response on his blog. I e-mailed Mrs. Edwards to point out that my story Handin linked to did not draw the same conclusion, and she graciously responded very promptly. Other bloggers during the 2004 cycle had similar experiences.

There are two ways to view Mrs. Edwards' posting on blogs. Some will wonder how wise it is for Edwards to enter this swamp. Every blogger has a sane/insane ratio for political posts ... we come to accept it from our peers. But when an aspiring First Lady says something pointed, it's not just typical Internet chatter, it's potentially big news. Elizabeth Edwards is extremely smart and a terrific writer ... but it's an incredible high-wire act for someone so prominent to attempt.

But personally, I don't believe Mrs. Edwards gets enough credit from the blogosphere for her willingness to engage us at our level. While our President brags about never having sent an e-mail, Edwards is so down to earth she comments on other people's blogs and doesn't seem to care about exposing an e-mail address to the general public. She needs to start getting mileage out of her authenticity because she clearly enjoys the combat too much to stop.