The bad news, for some of us, is that you have to pay $100 for a virtual seat. This event appears to be in the hands of the finance team instead of the communications team so it may be a good way to earn a little bank, but a rather bad way to curry favor with bloggers.

In fact, I'm astonished they haven't invited conservative bloggers to participate, or at least witness the discussion, and report back to readers how great it was (or wasn't).

Reaching out to bloggers with fig trees like this would be an easy way to build up momentum and buzz for the next "Ideas Exchange." And it probably would help ease the lovers' quarrel which Mary Katharine Ham talks about.

...And that's what really grinds my gears.
________________________________________
David All
The David All Group
http://davidallgroup.com
________________________________________

Let's assume you want to keep it a fundraiser. After all, this is early in the primary season and everyone is judged by their Cash on Hand. Why not take the concept of the Stock Exchange, futures trading, and political fundraising and tie that to the money they're asking for?

Say that $100 not only gets you admission, but it also is your stake in the McCain Ideas/Futures. You could, based on the performance of McCain's ideas, actually watch the money you invested in the campaign grow.

It doesn't actually get you anything, but you'd have a sense of involvement seeing your funds advance the campaign message. It doesn't need to be terribly complex. The concept is not, for practical purposes, significantly different from Dean's big red bat. It's just a way to show movement and make people feel involved.