By Brian Faler Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, November 15, 2003; Page A04
On television, Howard Dean was getting pummeled -- and in cyberspace, his supporters were getting nervous.
"We are getting killed on this one," Grandma Marcia in OK wrote.
"This is not good AT ALL," Jenny said.
They had gathered at the Democratic presidential candidate's Web log, or "blog," a section of his Web site where staffers, supporters and most anyone else can read and post comments. The topic that night was the recent "Rock the Vote" presidential debate on CNN. For 90 minutes, they watched the debate while simultaneously trading their impressions online.
Dean had been criticized in the debate by Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and Al Sharpton for telling an Iowa newspaper, "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." His rivals demanded an apology. Dean had refused -- which helped fuel the online hand-wringing.
But while Dean's backers squirmed, retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark's supporters, who had gathered on his blog for the debate, were enjoying the show.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Black guy asking Dean CF question!" Lara wrote.
"Sharpton is hammering Dean. Go Sharpton!" wrote RobertH20_[Eugene/Springfield,OR].
Blogs, those Web sites where thousands have posted their musings, rants and commentaries, have gone presidential. The Dean campaign led the way, launching its site in March. Since then, six of his eight Democratic rivals, along with President Bush, have launched similar sites. Only Sharpton and former senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.) have not.
Most use the blogs as campaign journals. They are usually updated throughout the day, often beginning with a roundup of favorable news coverage. The more elaborate sites, such as Dean's and Clark's, also include stories from the campaign trail, photos, progress reports, advice for activists -- all written in a breezy, conversational tone that contrasts with the campaign-speak found on more traditional Web sites.
