Rob Bluey's blog

Following the GOP convention last month, John McCain’s campaign had an extraordinary opportunity to capitalize on the excitement and good will that Sarah Palin brought to the ticket. Instead, they failed miserably.

Fortunately for the McCain campaign, last night’s debate performance offered a new opportunity. Palin’s uncomfortable interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric are old news. Her grasp of policy -- albeit jittery at times -- demonstrated that she has what it takes to be McCain’s No. 2.

What she does next -- or more importantly, what the McCain campaign allows her to do next --will define whether she has what it takes to define conservatism for the next generation.

It was about a month ago when I outlined Palin’s promise and peril. My opinion is largely unchanged. Conservatives should still be very skeptical given what little we know about her. The fact that we learned little about Palin’s worldview until last night is startling. And even then, it's hard to know if those were her thoughts or someone else's words.

Last month I posed these questions:

Will Palin follow in McCain's footsteps? Or will she charter her own course that remakes the right? She seems like a great leader. So where does she want to lead? Putting aside the talking points, what is her actual, governing philosophy? What are *her* priorities? Will she be a manager or transformative?

A month later, we still don’t have clear answers.

That’s why over the next month, the McCain campaign needs to let Palin be herself. Here are three things she can do:

1. Solo town hall meetings. This would erase doubts about Palin’s inability to answer tough questions. Putting her in front of an audience that can ask unpredictable questions would show that she’s comfortable talking directly to Americans and also eliminate the media filter. It ties in perfectly with McCain’s straight talk message.
2. More radio and TV interviews. As Conn Carroll notes, putting Palin before Gibson and Couric was like sending a baseball player to the majors without any practice. The campaign’s miscue can be corrected. From now until Nov. 4 she should be doing conservative talk radio daily (she’s only spoken to Hugh Hewitt so far) and sitting down with local radio or TV journalists in the cities she’s visiting.
3. Outreach to bloggers. At the lowest point in the McCain campaign, his team turned to bloggers for a biweekly call with the candidate. McCain was only one in either party to do this regularly. It built tremendous rapport and allowed bloggers to quiz McCain about timely issues. Doing this would also put Palin in contact with her staunchest supporters and bypass conservative media elites.

The American people didn’t get to know Sarah Palin over the course of the past month. With the clock ticking, there’s no time to waste.

Last week my Heritage Foundation colleague Todd Thurman noticed something unusual with web traffic on Heritage.org. Search engines, primarily Google, were sending far more people to the site than usual -- and almost all of it to a research paper from 2005.

The reason? Sarah Palin.

Prior to Aug. 29, the day John McCain picked her as his running mate, Palin was mentioned by name only a handful of times on Heritage.org. So why did our web traffic spike?

Back in October 2005, Heritage senior research fellow Ron Utt wrote a paper on the Bridge to Nowhere, which at the time focused on Sen. Tom Coburn’s attempt to transfer the $223 million for the bridge in Ketchikan, Alaska, to a Hurricane Katrina-damaged bridge in Louisiana. It made no mention of Palin, who at the time, hadn't yet been elected.

Nearly three years later, Utt’s paper had become one of the most popular pages on the website -- all because of its excellent rank in the Google search results. If you don't think Google is shaping people's first impressions, think again.

Search-engine traffic began to increase the day Palin was picked, but the real spike happened Wednesday night when she mentioned the Bridge to Nowhere in her acceptance speech:

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves

Inquiring minds clearly wanted to know what this Bridge to Nowhere was all about. The fact they were reading a paper written by the Heritage Foundation, as opposed to the New York Times, certainly bodes well for the right.

More than 95% of the people entering Heritage.org were new visitors. The average time spent on the Utt paper was more than 4 minutes, indicating people probably read most of it.

Palin’s popularity in online searches has been documented by Sarah Lai Stirland and Nate Silver. And fortunately, as the above example demonstrates, people are looking for information beyond the "Sarah Palin Bikini Photos."

Less than a week ago Sarah Palin was introduced to America and many conservatives for the first time. In the intervening week, the GOP vice presidential nominee has endured a liberal smear campaign, ruthless media criticism and the biggest speech of her life. She emerged unscathed and more respected. In the process she united the right.

What now for Sarah Palin? As Jon Henke wrote yesterday, there is a fundamental misunderstanding by liberals and journalists why people on the right are excited about her. But what is it that gives conservatives so much hope?

From a purely partisan perspective, Henke argues she will reform the "directionless, corrupt and ineffectual" party and change the identity of the GOP in the process.

The question, then, is what Sarah Palin will do with the Republican Party if she has the opportunity to remake it. Change is necessary, but where does the Republican Party go next? That is a question that needs to be addressed.

Henke's point is a good one -- and very likely the reason many Republicans are motivated. But the reason *conservatives* are excited about Palin extends beyond the party (yes, there is a difference). Like Ronald Reagan before her, Palin has a special talent for talking to grassroots conservatives in a way they can relate. Her can-do attitude and optimistic outlook are truly inspirational. After eight years and many disappointments, it feels like morning again in America.

There's an important distinction between her and Reagan, however. It took Reagan 16 years from his "Time for Choosing" speech in 1964 before winning his party's nomination. By the time he came to Washington, Reagan had a committed conservative movement with him and a portfolio of policy goals to choose from.

Sarah Palin is a blank slate. Aside from what we've learned in the past week, we know very little about the woman who could transform conservatism for the next generation. For that reason, we should be skeptical. Certainly not in a bad way, but with the recognition that she's on a ticket with maverick who has made a career of being unpredictable.

Will Palin follow in McCain's footsteps? Or will she charter her own course that remakes the right? She seems like a great leader. So where does she want to lead? Putting aside the talking points, what is her actual, governing philosophy? What are *her* priorities? Will she be a manager or transformative?

The next few weeks will be tremendously important for Palin. As we get to know her, she'll get to know us. What she says and what she does will be magnified because she is an unknown. The excitement she brings to the GOP ticket could be seen all week at the convention. No other Republican has been able to inspire that kind of enthusiasm in a long, long time. With so much at stake, she can't afford to let us down.

Want the latest news from the GOP's rules committee meeting in Minnesota? Your best bet is Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis, who posted about 40 updates today on Twitter.

Embracing Twitter was a no-brainer for Anuzis. For years the Michigan GOP chairman has bypassed the mainstream media to communicate directly with people through a personal e-mail list that has swelled to 4,000. The list includes some of the most influential politicos and reporters in Michigan as well as national bloggers and conservative leaders.

What makes Anuzis' daily e-mail so effective is its authenticity. It's written each day by Anuzis in a conversational tone with the occasional typo. (You can read it on his blog or RedState.) The strategy isn't rocket science, but it's worked brilliantly for the Michigan GOP to communicate more effectively.

"We get more earned media off of Saul's e-mail commentary than we do in our traditional media relations efforts," says Bill Nowling, communications director for the state party. Nowling told me Anuzis' e-mails are simply more appealing to reporters and bloggers who cover politics -- even if Anuzis is saying the same thing the party would in a press release.

Several Michigan bloggers chat with Anuzis on Instant Messenger. If you send him an e-mail, you're likely to get an quick response. The chairman regularly responds to 200 to 300 per day.

Think Anuzis is a busy guy. No doubt about it. And we've just scratched the surface.

The team he's assembled in Lansing has been hard at work to make the state competitive for John McCain. Anuzis often says all is takes to win is money and everything else. If he's out raising the money, his staff back at party headquarters is doing everything else.

Nowling and Executive Director Jeff Timmer are key to building the infrastructure. Under their direction, the state party has rebuilt its website to provide more information to volunteers about their local party organization. More importantly, they've deployed an eLeader Program that allows volunteers to e-mail their friends and contacts. The party benefits by tracking the information in a database. After only a couple months, 225 activists are using it to raise money.

Michigan was the first state party to embrace the GOP Toolbar, which funnels a few pennies to the state GOP every time users type a Yahoo-based search in their browser. The toolbar was the work of former McCain adviser John Weaver. Nowling said it brings in about $1,000 per month to the Michigan Republican Party.

From a messaging standpoint, the state GOP is experimenting with Facebook to reach supporters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Ann Arbor to sell her new book prompted Anuzis to quickly organize a protest that drew about 50 people on a rainy night. Anuzis created an event on Facebook just 24 hours earlier and e-mailed his 1,500 friends.

Nowling acknowledged that Anuzis catches flak from detractors and even other GOP leaders, but he shows no sign of slowing down. Anuzis recently spoke to the National Conference of State Legislators in New Orleans about staying ahead of the curve. He regularly prods his fellow Republicans to do so as well.

"We're successful because Saul is invested," Nowling said. "When technology advanced so he could do this kind of political activity online, he just rode the wave."

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was instrumental on Aug. 1 from the start of the #dontgo revolt on the House floor. But since then, he hasn't been back to Washington, opting instead to focus on work in his district. He's also doing two things that almost certainly enhance his profile as a potential VP for John McCain: raising money for Republicans and appearing on TV as a surrogate for the GOP nominee.

Nonetheless, Cantor's name has been left out of recent news stories or relegated to darkhorse status. Aside from an excellent Washington Times piece by Ben Domenech making the case for Cantor, it would appear his 15 minutes of fame have faded after a flurry of news stories several weeks ago.

That could change over the next week as he heads to Denver for the GOP's messaging operation to counter the Democratic National Convention. Just as they did four years ago in Boston, Republicans will bring some of the party's most recognizable faces and rising stars for news briefings each day.

Cantor's absence from Washington didn't strike me as unusual until today when I heard Minority Leader John Boehner was headed back to Capitol Hill for the Republican revolt, which enters its 14th day tomorrow. It'll mark the second time Boehner has come back. Other members of the Republican leadership team -- Whip Roy Blunt, Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole -- have also returned.

From what I was able to gather, it's not that Cantor doesn't want to come back. He simply doesn't have the time given his jam-packed schedule and stumping for McCain. "Eric's not the kind of guy who lets the grass grow under his feet," a source told me today.

There's no question about that. Cantor has collected more than 34,000 signatures on his Call Congress Back petition, which launched simultaneously with the #dontgo protest on the floor. He has consistently kept pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in TV interviews. And he was the McCain campaign's official representative on Aug. 4 conference call about Barack Obama's energy plan.

Am I reading too much into this? Perhaps. But that's what makes VP speculation so fun.

AUSTIN, Tex. – I arrived in the Lone Star State tonight with big hopes for the next two days. I’ll be attending Americans for Prosperity’s Right Online conference with several hundred conservative activists from across America and here in Texas.

This conference is significant for many reasons, but the most important is the fact that conservatives are finally getting together to talk face-to-face about the challenges and opportunities on the Internet. Many meetings have taken place in the past -- including one I hosted at Heritage last year -- but this one is special because it’s happening at the same time and in the same city as Netroots Nation.

Over the next two days, attendees will interact in workshops on everything from online fundraising and social networking to reputation management and web video. Blogging will be a key component. My colleague Bill Beach, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, will teach a class on Computer-Assisted Research and Reporting to nearly 20 professional and citizen journalists.

Some of the online right’s most noteworthy people are here. That’s a stark contrast to other technology/politics conferences I’ve attended the past couple years. In fact, too often it’s quite lonely. I recall a post from Matt Lewis of Townhall at the 2007 Politics Online conference in Washington:

While there may be some inherent reasons for liberal domination in the blogosphere, some of the problems may actually be our own fault. ...

Granted, it is very possible that there are other conservatives here that I haven't seen (or don't know). But it is also clear that a vast majority of the folks attending are liberals. Sometimes these things perpetuate themselves. Conservatives don't want to attend because most of the folks here are liberals. Of course, this thinking makes the problem worse...

The purpose of this conference is to learn from experts about how to use the internet more effectively. Surely, this is something that conservatives and Republicans can benefit from.

It's a shame more of us aren't here...

Gradually, that problem has disappeared, but there’s no question conservatives still remain in the minority. Last month’s Personal Democracy Forum in New York was one of the best showings among the online right, yet liberals still dominated. Now we have a gathering of our own.

There’s another reason I’m excited about Right Online. More than two years ago I co-founded with Tim Chapman (now a communications adviser to Sen. Jim DeMint) the Conservative Bloggers’ Briefing. What started as a strategy session with a handful of bloggers quickly evolved into a weekly meeting of new-media strategists and online communicators. I often tell people that the most important thing about the briefing is not what happens at the meeting but the networking that takes place before and after.

That’s why I believe Right Online has so much potential. Bloggers and online activists on the left have formed strong bonds to pursue their goals. People on the right don’t have the same kind of off-line relationships to help achieve online victories. So while I know people will come away better educated in the ways of online fundraising and making videos, I also hope they leave Austin with many new friends and allies -- partners who share the values of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom a strong national defense.

Last month I offered a couple examples of the good work being done online by state-based think tanks. There's another noteworthy project to highlight today from Texas.

As one of the leading states in the area of government transparency, Texas is already a step ahead of most states when it comes to giving citizens access to information. But what the state lacked was a single source to find what's publicly available. Enter the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

The Austin-based foundation today launched TexasBudgetSource.com, which was designed to be a one-stop shop for spending data from state and local governments. The project's goal was to put in the hands of citizens the information they need to hold their elected officials accountable.

Promoted and bumped. -Patrick

Check out the Drudge Report tonight and you'll see a photo of Al Gore and a link to "REPORT: Gore's personal electricity consumption 'up 10%'..." Look a little closer and you'll notice the source isn't a mainstream news organization or even a blog. It's the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

This isn't the first time Drew Johnson's state-based think tank has hit the jackpot with a Drudge link. The organization broke news in February 2007 about Al Gore's enormous energy bill. That story, too, was picked up by Drudge, sending a slew of hate mail to Johnson in the process.