The Web on the Candidates

• In the spirit of April Fool's day, the free-lovin' folks at Burning Man -- yes, that Burning Man -- have announced that John McCain will be visiting the latter-day hippie event. Referring to the temporary city constructed in the desert every year, McCain supposedly said, "I look forward to engaging with the good folks of Black Rock City, and showing them not just by my words, but through my actions that deep down, despite all our glaringly stark differences, we share the same American Dream. No, seriously... what's so funny? Did I make a joke?" What's next? Hillary Clinton at Lollapalooza?
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• It's all Twitter, all the time here at tP: Last month I posted about a confusing barrage of Twitter followers I'd suddenly received, all featuring the names of past or present presidential candidates plus a number (like ChrisDodd42). Ever the online gumshoe, William Beutler took a closer look and found that these accounts are indeed spam, taking headlines from political blogs -- including this one -- and posting them as tweets. Taken out of context, they are pretty meaningless but really annoying. Beutler also points out that, since twit-spam is using a proprietary service and not a universal standard like email, there should be no problem with weeding out the offenders. Are the Twitter folks listening?
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• The DNCC has announced what it's calling "unprecedented access" for bloggers at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. Credentialed state bloggers will be seated with their delegation; no word on whether national-level bloggers will be given access. Will the RNC follow in their steps?
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• Yesterday Rep. Ed Markey presided over a subcommittee hearing on virtual worlds, so it only made sense to give the hearing a presence in a -- you guessed it -- virtual world. Congressional Quarterly's Leah Nylen, the latest political journalist to attempt to explain Second Life to the masses, reports that, despite appearances in the world from Nancy Pelosi, George Miller, and Jerrold Nadler, Markey "appears to be the only lawmaker who has a continued presence in Second Life." No worries; I'm sure Newt Gingrich will give another talk there soon.
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• Remember that wonderfully cheesy video, Hillary4UandMe? The creator has announced he's running to be a Clinton convention delegate, specifically citing the popularity of the video as a credential. Using that logic, one of the McCain Girls should probably run, too.

The Candidates on the Web

• This Democratic race needs to be tied up soon, if for no other reason than to put an end to terrible metaphors. "Let me tell you something – when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up," Hillary Clinton told reporters yesterday. The New York Post, ever quick to get Hillary in the ring (nudge, nudge, wink... whatever), immediately produced this graphic, pitting the imagined strengths and liabilities of Balboa against those of Clinton. Sigh. Please, finish the race before it gets worse. (h/t, Ben Smith)

In Case You Missed It...

When I spotted one of those campaign trail pieces about Barack Obama's bowling adventures, I shrugged it off as just a product of a slow day. But someone else was apparently paying attention, and posted a very special tweet: