Charges of favoritism aside, DNC bloggers continue snarky analysis

Democratic convention planners have been plagued by charges of bias since May, when they announced the State Blogger Corps, one blogger from each state who would be granted floor access all four days, sitting beside their state delegations and hooked up to the Internet.

The corps looked a little…white.

Charges of racism shot through the blogosphere.

"Jim Crow Rears His Ugly Head" read the May 20 post  of the Georgia Politics Unfiltered, one of about 350 rejected bloggers.

The Washington Post picked up on the controversy and, in doing so, gave it new wind.

Even after 124 blogs were named to the General Blogger Pool, suspicion lingered.

It's not just a matter of racism, but of general bias, Minnesota-based blog True North said Tuesday. "The DNC apparently went in favor of groups they know will post their talking points without anyone straying from the party line," Nathan McLaughlin wrote.

And the question remains: Are the credentialed bloggers sympathetic to the Democratic cause? Are they churning out the kind of glowing copy that would delight DNC planners? After all, they are bloggers. They have not taken vows of objectivity; paid or unpaid, they're blogging as a hobby, a passion.

The complete answer will emerge throughout the course of the coming week. But so far, DNC bloggers have proved wide-ranging — some obsequious, many irreverent. Their posts are as saucy as press releases are canned, brief in the face of protracted boilerplate. And they're having a blast getting right to the point — whatever point they're inclined to raise.

TUESDAY HIGHLIGHTS — culled largely from the team at St. Paul-based The Uptake.

Cheers
Punch lines
• Hillary Clinton's Twin Cities crack, featured among the Top Three Lines from the Buckeye State Blog.
• "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits"

JC
• 9:34 Joe Bodell — Jimmy Carter talking with Michelle Obama and Joe Biden.....great image.
• 9:34 Logie [U of M rhetoric professor] — He's like the Meat Loaf of contemporary American politics — big, loud, sweaty, and a lot of fun

Hillary's fire
• 9:49 VeganGoddess — Yeah! or wait NO way NO how NO mccain!
• 9:49 Logie — If she had found this gear earlier this year, she might be speaking on Thursday.

Jeers
Bland lead-up 
• 8:34 Logie — The Democrats are aggressively attempting to put the viewing audience to sleep well before Hillary takes the stage.

Fake niceness
• 10:02 Chris Dykstra — Why do we always preface anti Mccain comments with .."I respect him, but.."

DNC soundtrack
• 8:24 Logie — THINGS I CAN DO WITHOUT: The live orchestra's Pat Boone-ish take on U2's "Beautiful Day."
• 8:24 Joe Bodell — Another politically overused song.
• 8:40 Logie — EGREGIOUS MUSIC CUE #8 in a SERIES, COLLECT THEM ALL! "I'm so Excited"   
• 9:37 Logie — "Girl, You Really Got me now" — in this context, really?

iPhone video
• 10:39m ChuckOlsen — Guest: You realize this is from an iPhone — inherently limited quality. It's about spontaneity, immediate access.
• 10:45 Chris Dykstra — The interview is good. It's an evolving medium and tough to get compelling work out of such a tiny gadget. It essentially replaces a satellite truck. What it loses in quality, it makes up for in immediacy, or mostly does.
• The pace is so fast that details can be blurred; some bloggers don't realize who they've interviewed until after they post the audio.
• 10:29 ChuckOlsen — I just had a really wonderful interview with one of the feminist cougar ladies — hopefully the audio worked, it was fantastic.
• 10:37 ChuckOlsen — hot news! the women i just interviewed, the feminist lady — totally Jey Leno's wife.

Christina Capecchi writes about culture and the social impact of technology. Capecchi can be reached at ccapecchi [at] minnpost [dot] com.