Matt Stoller makes the case for blogs on CNN

Matt Stoller, my personal blogfather ('twas he who recruited me to BOPnews), did the maven thing on CNN's On the Story yesterday (video here, courtesy of Crooks & Liars). It was grand to see him — fresh off the Corzine win — a little fuzzy through the webcam but handsome and Harvard-smart, putting paid once and for all to the canard that blogger guys are odd Hobbit-like creatures, geekoids who dress only in pajamas.

At MyDD Matt further fleshes out what he sees as the future of online political media, and predicts what changes in campaign techniques will be with us as we look to 2006, 2008 and beyond.

His conclusions? Among other noteworthy ones:

Door walks, for one. You can expect those to be radically expanded. Social activities will be another outlet. Since political campaigns won't be able to just buy your attention, the political party that can be more social and fun will have a sustained advantage.

I'm pleased to say that locally we've got these bases covered. SB is a big walking town. Our candidates and issues people love to be out and about. As for the fun stuff, see what my PAC, BE for Change, is doing to make Democrats-coming-together a jolly event.

More Matt:

...coalition politics will become essential. No longer will well funded candidates be able to stare down potential opposition, and no longer will politicians see "being on message" as the be-all and end-all. Instead, there will be many messages for many groups, micro-targeting mixed with argument and discussion...Politics is about to become a lot messier, a lot more open, and in all likelihood, a lot bloodier...

Messier and a lot more open — that's good. Bloodier? It's hard to see how. But Matt, for all that his years are tender, is an astute observer of (and now a seasoned participant in) process, so let's hark to his words. He really is a maven.