Some government agencies already blog. Some of those blogs are good. Most are shit.

I am actually impressed so far with the TSA's blog, they really do seem like they are trying.

But most blogs will be even less interactive, if you can imagine it, than Salon's Broadsheet Blog in which a group of over-privileged so called journalists crap out nonsense and then refuse to interact with knowledgeable readers that futilely attempt to have a conversation with them.

Expect most government blogs to be written by, and run by, government lawyers and political appointees, and expect them to be useless, except as Broadsheet is, as a way to determine the talking points that have been handed down to them.

We need a substantive way of interacting with our government outside of the voting box or suing the shit out of them. There are, in theory, any number of regulatory agencies and independent auditors/inspector generals that can be informed of malfeasance, problems, or just simple suggestions. But often times these agencies are so often strapped for cash and hemmed in by larger politics, and their enforcement powers are often toothless, that the best they can do is write very harsh reports (which often times, like the recent image of a United States Park Police officer, sleeping in his vehicle, produce all sorts of laughs).

In fact, its depressing how full of good ideas the various audit and IG branches of a given department are. And how few of them ever end up being practiced.

If you go to the web sites for the two candidates, the Obama site is much more effective in terms of activating the voter.

If you go to face book, there are over 300,000 users declaring their support and doing online activism for Obama while the Clinton number is about 85,000.

Bill can declare whatever he wants about a Hillary plan to bring the government into the internet era. She would need to declare that because she hasn't demonstrated her connection to it, yet. Meanwhile, Obama's online fundraising and grassroots organizing, his detailed discussion of how to use technology for effective governance and his legislation that created a publicly search-able database listing all government funding awards demonstrates he's the true leader when it comes to transparency and adaptation of communications technology.

Nice try, Bill.

It's not that there isn't a need for information from the federal government to citizens - there's already more than most people could digest; it's just not organized terribly well. Increasing the quantity won't help that.

Then there's the question of whether or not people will understand it. I remember seeing a post on a private-sector tech blog about the FAA and someone was ranting about how their obsession with NAS showed they were out of touch. He had assumed it meant network-attached storage and went on at great length about data management... unfortunately, at FAA NAS refers to national air space and the systems to manage it. Point missed, I think.

Anyway, as a beltway bandit, let me assure any interested parties that most of what the Federal government is up to - on a labor hour basis - is not that interesting. I mean, I suppose if a client wanted me to write up a blog post for them about their latest OMB Exhibit 300, I could do that, since I already wrote most of the supporting materials. But it would serve only as a cure for insomnia.

In any case, since the biggest spend category for federal administrative funds is copier and printer paper, I suspect they're a fair way short of Gov't 2.0 just yet.

It's a well established truth of political theory that the effectiveness of governmental institutions is measured by the number of blogposts they generate. Had there been a functioning FEMA blog, the response to hurricane Katrina would have been vastly better. A decent blog at the DoD would have prevented the debacle of Iraq. The subprime mortgage meltdown is due in large measure to the absence of blogs at Treasury and Commerce.

Thank God for political visionaries like the Clintons! The era of big government is over, but the era of blog government will soon be with us. Rejoice, fortunate citizens!

You've got to be kidding me! Blogs?? This is one of the Clintons' Big Ideas(tm)? Blogs??!?!?! I'd love to see the GS payscale for a government blogger. Try harder. They really, really deserve to lose this nomination fight.

I was at this event. I think it's disingenuous of you to attempt to give the impression that this was the totality of Bill Clinton's message there.

I am pretty near my limit with Salon's biased coverage here. I get it that you all have your personal views and are supporting Obama's candidacy. But you have become the very mainstream media outlets you decry...the spitting image of CNN's type of coverage.

I question the integrity of publishing campaign literature for the Clintons on super Tuesday. Where's the link to the Clinton Campaign site? Maybe at least a suggestion where to go if you'd like to put out some more love to the Clintons?

Is this news? Really? Bill wants a blog? Wow, they're really savvy. Must be the power of the internets reaching the people. I feel his pain. I really do.

So, now she deserves to lose the nomination for one single idea? Her Universal Medical Coverage Plan, her approach to the mortgage crisis, her plan to bring the troops back home and many other issues that she has been addressing since day one of this campaign, mean squat. She deserves to lose the nomination because of Bill Clinton's comment on governmental blogs. Give me a break lady.

As if your posture (which I am sure is shared by the majority of your colleagues in the Obama camp) wasn't ridiculous enough, it gets even funnier when contrasted with the empty postures of Obama. Oh, yeah but he is so inspirational . . . go figure!

When the entire battalion of losers headed by Kennedy and Kerry, which has lead the democratic party to defeat after defeat, rallies against the only team that has won an election and a reelection for the democratic party since FDR, you have to wonder if we shouldn't be getting ready for at least 4 more years of Republican rule if they succeed in their frenetic efforts to derail Hillary's bid for the White House.

It was very sad to hear Michelle Obama yesterday saying that she would have to think twice before voting for Hillary if the senator gets the nomination, but at least she is consistence with the blackmail of division that her husband has been spewing throughout his campaign ornamented by a beautiful but empty, Yes We Can. Indeed.