Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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The revelation that Howard Dean's presidential campaign hired two Internet political "bloggers" as consultants so that they would say positive things about the former governor's campaign in their online journals is getting some serious attention.

(Also check out commentary from Instapundit, Jonah Patrick Hynes and Kos himself.)

Jerome Armstrong, who publishes the blog MyDD, and Markos Zuniga [Moulitsas], who publishes DailyKos, say they don't "believe the Dean campaign had been trying to buy their influence. Both men noted that they had promoted Mr. Dean's campaign long before they were hired and continued to do so after their contract with the campaign ended."

But here's why it matters. As I've been covering the DNC race, I (and other DNC-race-watchers) noted that one of Dean's strengths was the widespread perception that he spoke for the angry Democratic grassroots. If you're an angry Democrat, chances are you've visited Daily Kos at least once, and the discussion boards on Kos' site are full of pro-Dean comments. (I even listed "Daily Kos" as one of Dean's key supporters.)

Now, I don't doubt Kos really likes Dean, or that he genuinely thinks Dean is the best pick for the next DNC Chair. But I sure didn't see much about his employment with Dean during my (admittedly sporadic) clicking around of Kos' site, looking to assess how the grassroots are reacting to the DNC race.

Dean's former Internet head Zephyr Teachout rightly wishes Kos — and every other blogger/consultant — had an easy to find, prominent client list of all clients at all times. And there's really no harm in saying, "Look, I used to work for the guy, so maybe I'm partial, but I really think..." I've done it myself.

And yes, Armstrong Williams is still wrong, and the DaschlevThune guys ought to have disclosed their financial interests as well.

UPDATE: A couple TKS readers point out that it was obvious to any DaschlevThune reader that the site was created to promote Thune and criticize Daschle. True, but they still should have disclosed their financial ties to the Thune campaign, the same way Williams should have disclosed his big check from the Department of Education.

[Posted 01/14 11:21 AM]