The Web on the Candidates

• Jason Rosenberg, the newly-hired Online Communications Director for the Democratic National Convention, sat down with Colorado Confidential for an interview about including bloggers at the convention. "Political bloggers cover every aspect of politics and the party. We want bloggers there," Rosenberg says. Although convention planning is in its earliest stages, Rosenberg already says bloggers "will have unprecedented access" to the convention and its associated events. This is great news, but doesn't it sound a little like 2004? With Rosenberg's hire -- he has worked for, among others, tech consulting firm EchoDitto -- the DNCC can, and should, bring the convention in line with the universe of online activism that now includes Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and countless other sites. Let's hope that happens.
• The GOP is lagging behind the Dems online. We know that. Over at the Washington Post's The Trail, Matthew Mosk gives another metric of exactly how far behind. He compares the numbers for Democratic powerhouse fundraising site Act Blue and Republican upstart ABC PAC, and it's a blowout. According to Mosk, Act Blue has raised more than $25 million for Democratic presidential candidates, while ABC PAC has raised a mere $385. So John McCain consultant Becki Donatelli is setting out with partner Michael Palmer to remake the conservative PAC in hopes of making it a viable competitor to Act Blue. An attempt to fix things can't hurt; as Mosk writes, "given the numbers they are posting on the site right now, it would be tough to make things worse."
• In reaction to Mitt Romney's financial disclosure of a portfolio worth up to $250 million, DNC Blogger Kombiz Lavasany has launched an experiment in crowdsourcing to try to dig up any questionable investments. He posted calls for volunteers to pore through the disclosure on the Democratic Party's home site, Daily Kos, and MyDD. So far, nothing has turned up beyond the LA Times' report on his investments in Sudan, but with that size an investment, there's no scarcity of paperwork to go through.
• Earlier this week Chris Wilson at USNews.com noticed that, according to BlogPulse, Mitt Romney was the second-most-blogged-about person this past Sunday, due to his win in the Ames, Iowa straw poll. The most popular person on the blogs was -- and continues to be -- Harry Potter. As of yesterday, Romney had fallen to sixth-place, behind Karl Rove (#2), George Bush (#3), and Hillary Clinton (#4), who for somewhat obscure reasons had risen from 8th place. This is addictive stuff...
• Fred Thompson has been running a "stealth" campaign online not only because he's web-savvy, but because he has to, writes the New York Times' Susan Saulny. Because he hasn't declared his presidency, he can't advertise on TV or the radio. But "federal election laws and enforcement have failed to catch up with the surge in campaigning in cyberspace. As a result, he has been able to promote his positions and raise money through his Web site, all while technically remaining a noncandidate."
• Mitt Romney's comments equating volunteering for the army and working on his campaign have been covered in the blogosphere, and now, owing to the growing symbiotic relationship between blogs and the mainstream, the story has made it to the New York Times. They still haven't gotten the "credit the blogosphere for getting it first" thing down yet.

In Case You Missed It...

Although most of the candidates have Facebook profiles, many of them aren't updating their status. It's a great way to communicate with supporters -- why aren't they doing it? And has anyone seen Dennis Kucinich?

techPresident's Andrew Rasiej, David All, and Liza Sabater were on WABC TV this weekend talking about -- you guessed it -- the tubes.

CalTech grad student Virgil Griffith has introduced Wikiscanner, an amazing new tool that lets you search for editorial changes to Wikipedia entries by institution. And it looks like someone from Hillary's campaign has time to watch Korgoth of Barbaria.

Mitt Romney hasn't said he'll join the CNN/YouTube Republican debate in November, but David All suggests that we can't count him out just yet.