Presidential Candidates at YearlyKos

The YearlyKos session with the presidential candidates was great! The questions came from bloggers and activists at the convention and around the country. They were insightful, respectful, and addressed issues not usually addressed in the candidates' debates like asking Senator Clinton would she continue to take money from lobbyists (yes she will) after it was pointed out that neither Senators Edwards nor Obama have taken any money from lobbyists. Or asking the candidates whether they would appoint a presidential blogger (they will - and Edwards will appoint his wife).

One of the most moving moments was when Senator Dodd talked about how the vote on the detainee bill, which among other things did away with habeus corpus, was one of the worst he had ever seen in his 27 years in Congress. I couldn't agree more - that night I didn't sleep at all and got up the next day feeling literally physically ill - I could not believe that my country including both my Democratic senators had just erased habeus corpus - that was a dark day.

Then Senator Dodd said that he was very indebted to the folks at YearlyKos and all those they represent because they were among those who really "got it", who really understood the horror and magnitude of that vote and what had been done to our country that day.

All in all, it was a free-wheeling session marked by good humor, respect, and a sense of common purpose in spite of different points of view on various issues. The internet is changing politics and this session with the candidates was one sure sign of it.