Regular readers of the Dodd Blog probably know by now that Blue Hampshire is the premier site for political news in New Hampshire, particularly when it comes to presidential politics. Dean Barker, one of the site's founders, has endorsed Chris Dodd for President. Today's Wall Street Journal has an in-depth profile of Blue Hampshire and their work which has made themselves one of the most important local blogs in the country when it comes to presidential politics.
Blue Hampshire has distinguished themselves throughout the campaign for their hard work. Notably their presidential policy straw poll brought together one of the most comprehensive collections of comparative statements from the Democratic candidates on a wide range of critical issues.
In addition to being one of the best looks in the traditional press that I can recall seeing about what it takes to blog at a high level and how hard bloggers work to provide good coverage, the WSJ piece and Blue Hampshire bloggers speak highly of the Dodd campaign's efforts to outreach to them.
Connecticut's Mr. Dodd has been careful not to commit such a faux pas [of canceling meetings with Blue Hampshire bloggers] and has benefited as a result.
Mr. Dodd and his staff have actively courted the Blue Hampshire bloggers. Mr. Browner-Hamlin, the blog outreach staffer for Mr. Dodd, regularly posted items on Blue Hampshire. In one, he wrote enthusiastically on Mr. Dodd's Web site about meeting the "renowned" bloggers at a New Hampshire Democratic party event. Phone calls and daily emails to the bloggers with tidbits about Mr. Dodd's activities led to a steady stream of items on the Blue Hampshire site.
The more the bloggers heard about Mr. Dodd's views, the more they were impressed, Mr. Caulfield says.
On Sept. 5, Mr. Barker formally endorsed Mr. Dodd. "Chris Dodd is the strongest proponent of the progressive issues that matter most to me, and I trust him to carry those issues forward as president," he wrote.
Senator Dodd's hard work and our work in support of him is yielding results. While the article speaks well on our campaign's efforts, Senator Dodd would not be getting endorsements from these highly informed and thoughtful bloggers like Barker or Bob Geiger if he wasn't sincerely the candidate that they want to have as our next President. He's demonstrated clear leadership and presented bold, progressive ideas that resonate with Democrats around the country, online and offline. I think he'll continue to be recognized as Dean and others have.
