[Editor's Note: Now, if Grassley
starts blogging, I'm pretty sure THAT will be one of the signs that the
Apocalypse is at hand.  I'm just sayin'.  Take cover.]





CapitolLink: On The Road With Tom Harkin



Tom Harkin is traveling through his home state of Iowa during the August congressional recess, and the Democratic senator is blogging about his experiences, with the help of his staff.  [Do
you remember that picture of Harkin “blogging” from the steak fry
during the Dean campaign?  It looked like he was using the hunt
and peck method.]



The blog is the focus of Harkin's Senate Web site,
which now consists primarily of a map to chart his travels, a list of
events he will hold and blog postings about those events…. Allison
Dobson, Harkin's communications director, said Harkin writes the
material himself from the road, then sends it to staffers who post it
online.  [Cutting edge, I tell ya.]



Harkin
has not had any new content since [Wednesday]. “We're working out the bugs
today,” Dobson said. And so far he's not exactly offering profound
insights into the top policy issues of the day. His first post from
Monday includes photos of Harkin at a Dairy Queen….  [Um, how IOWA.  I wonder if he got one of those new cheesecake blizzards?]



The
blogging is a first for Harkin, though Dobson said the Web site earlier
this year included a one-time interactive feature during the Senate
floor debate over the “nuclear option” for filibusters of judicial
nominations. People sent more than 1,000 comments to Harkin's office
that night, and many of them were posted online.  [Such an impact!  I'm proud of all of us comment senders!]



As for
the blog, Dobson said reader feedback is welcome and even encouraged.
But comments cannot be posted online because of restrictions that
govern content on Senate Web sites. Any comments would have to be
screened for content before they were posted, she said, and the office
does not have the resources for such screening. “There's certain rules
we have to live with in the Senate,” Dobson said.  [Of course.  Free speech and all that.  Can't have THAT on a government website.]



(Click here to read the complete article.)