I just flew into Reno with John Edwards and his staff. They tell me that last time around they never had crowds like the ones they are seeing. I just walked past a 100-yard-long line of people.
It was really great to see Don Dodge and Alfred Thompson in New Hampshire. Don has a blog up with some photos of me. The reason he was outside was there were hundreds of people who couldn’t get inside the building, so he — unplanned — went outside and talked with the crowd. Here in Reno he’s going to have to do the same thing. There are hundreds of people who can’t get in.
The entire trip Edwards rode with us. Staff, press, and bloggers. The staffers tell me that’s highly unusual for a Presidential Candidate. I got to listen in on their meetings and their reactions.
41,000 people watched him online yesterday in Iowa.
I asked him if he’d continue blogging and getting bloggers access, he said that he’ll invite other bloggers to come along on future trips.
By the way, I sat next to reporters from Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. They told me they pay every part of the trip and won’t accept free travel or other things.
The problem is how do average citizens do trips like this and get access if they have to pay their own way? That’s going to be a problem. Maybe bloggers should start an association to pay for their own representatives to go on trips like this. That way we’ll make sure we keep our independence and credibility, while getting access to things like this.
Heheh, the staff is looking at Webmetrics right now to see what kind of increase in mentions they are seeing on the Web.
