March 13, 2007

Blogger Spotlight: Obamarama

Tomorrow we talk to Matt Keller of Draft Newt, but today we return to one of the many independent blogs devoted to Barack Obama. Easily the Blogometer's favorite name for a blog, Obamarama was founded by Jeremy Cluchey.

What is your full name?

Jeremy Cluchey

What is your age?

26

What's your hometown?

I'm originally from Maine, but don't get back nearly enough.

Where do you live now?

Washington, DC

What is your educational background?

I majored in English in college and am planning to start a joint degree in public policy and law this fall.

What is your occupation?

I work on communications for a nonprofit that places tutors in public school classrooms.

When did you first get involved in politics and why?

I've always been sort of a junkie. One day in college I was eating a bowl of cereal and watching Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party live on C-Span. I saw Trent Lott make his now infamous toast and shook my head, figuring his remarks would be overlooked the same way every other ridiculous thing Republicans said after September 11th was overlooked in the name of fighting terrorism.

Over the next few weeks, though, I followed the growing outrage as it evolved on the web. It started off relatively small, then gradually caught the attention of journalists, eventually prompting Sen. Lott's absurd appearance on BET, and finally erupting into the firestorm that forced his resignation. I'd never seen anything like it.

When did you start blogging and why?

Shortly after that, in the summer of 2003, I moved to Washington. I started a blog to see what all the fuss was about. It was a pretty simple Blogger operation -- just a few friends and me musing about the field of Democratic presidential candidates, basically rehashing the conventional wisdom and regurgitating The Note (we didn't know any better). The site faded out by mid-2004.

I launched OBAMARAMA at the end of last year to try and generate a little extra interest in Sen. Obama's potential candidacy. He was the first candidate I've encountered that I felt I could wholeheartedly support, and I wanted to do what I could to help. In particular, I was interested in responding to disingenuous attacks on him from the right, which were going largely unaddressed in the absence of a formal campaign. That's changed now to some extent, but I do my best to make the site an interesting and informative place for supporters to gather and share information and ideas.

How will blogs impact WH '08?

We'll have to see. They'll play a crucial role without a doubt, and I'm hopeful it will be a constructive one, facilitating debate and helping to voice ideas that would otherwise not be heard.

I have to say I'm also a believer that with power comes responsibility. It's amazing that we can influence and even direct the discussion, but sometimes I think we as bloggers get a little carried away with flexing our collective muscle for its own sake. Being organized in support of your values is a good thing, but threatening to tear down any leader who doesn't get in line is irresponsible. If we get too wrapped up in the bullying of politicians, pretty soon we'll start looking an awful lot like the special interest groups that controlled the politics many of us came here to change. That would be a shame.

What's your favorite most unsung specific example of a blogger affecting a political figure, organization, philosophy, or movement?

I realize this may qualify as shameless self-promotion, but I'd have to say my favorite instance is when OBAMARAMA posted a video of a local FOX affiliate in Minneapolis that ran footage from an Obama rally during a segment about a sex offender who had just been sentenced to 24 years in prison for molesting two students. The clip included images of Sen. Obama with the words "Sex Offender Sentenced" underneath. We encouraged people to contact the station and respectfully request a correction and apology. A few hours later, the News Director posted a comment on the site saying it had been a terrible mistake and that the station would run a correction and apology that night during both news broadcasts, which they did. It was a big day for the little blog.

Posted by Conn Carroll at March 13, 2007 07:37 PM