Thursday, July 22, 2004

Where are the Republican Senatorial campaign blogs? The Dems seem to be way out in front here. From the Roots, the weblog of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, lists several campaign blogs: · Tony Knowles (AK) · Barack Obama (IL) · Barbara Mikulski (MD) · Brad Carson (OK) (The Ur-blog of Senate campaigns, and a profile in blogging courage) · Joe Hoeffel (PA) · Inez Tenenbaum (SC) · Tom Daschle (SD) They all seem pretty bloggy, too. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is too busy obsessing about Hillary Clinton to dabble in such things. Now former Kerry chief technology officer Sanford Dickert is helping Florida candidate Peter Deutsch with his spiffy new campaign site, which I understand will soon include a blog. Working with Sanford are Dean campaign vet Mark Sundeen and Shannon Pinnick from the John Edwards presidential campaign.  When I first discussed a blog with the Bowles campaign last year, one of the questions I got back from the staff was, Will Erskine be the first US Senate candidate with a blog? If they had moved then, yes... ...now, here's how Josh Marshall puts it:"Even Erskine Bowles has his own campaign weblog." That's called having your snark and eating it, too -- Josh pimps the Bowles campaign but gets to stay cool at the same time. As I've said many times, I'd be happy to talk to the Richard Burr campaign about blogging, too. 6:06:14 PM    comment []

Sam Hieb notes that the N&R paid no attention whatsoever to Erskine Bowles' visit to GSO yesterday. Hmm. I was so busy searching for coverarge of the 5th district primary that I forgot to look... 2:04:41 PM    comment []

"Two Greensboro businessmen and their now-defunct reinsurance company will pay more than $400 million -- including proceeds from the sale of Irving Park's most distinctive mansion -- to settle a billion-dollar fraud case." Margaret Moffet Banks continues her excellent coverage of the Fortress Re story with this morning's bombshell. Chico Sabbah and Kenny Kornfeld are settling up with the Japanese insurers with whom they once did business, and almost everything must go. The mansion in Greensboro. The $8 million house in Aspen. The Gulfstream III jet. The apartments in New York, the properties at Fig' Yate, the furnishings, cash and investments. The fate of the American Hebrew Academy, the Greensboro boarding school funded by Sabbah to the tune of $100 million, remains uncertain, with negotiations continuing on the assets he donated. Lisa and I wrote about Sabbah, the school, and the complicated reinsurance business destroyed on 9/11 for Forbes. 10:01:16 AM    comment []