"Thoughts on Netroots Nation 2011"

Gaius Publius (AMERICAblog):

Feingold, in contrast, seems to have broken loose. Before the conference, I caught this piece from TPM, in which he accuses Dems and Repubs of "corruption" (defined correctly as letting campaign cash cast your vote). In the piece, he's quoted as calling out Steny Hoyer and Claire McCaskill (her). Not the party-loyalist thing to do. And his keynote address rung the same bell. MORE...

"Netroots Nation event reveals unhappiness among Obama supporters"

James Nord (MinnPost):

Former presidential candidate Howard Dean agreed. In a speech to the convention Thursday night, Dean seemed to gloss over his support for Obama in his attempt to rally the crowd.

"Change does not come from Washington, D.C.," he said. "Change comes from the bottom up, and we will make change in our own communities and then it will spread outwards." MORE...

"Media Overplays Obama Angst at Liberal Netroots Conference"

Ari Melber:

The White House dispatched Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer for a different kind of press conference on Friday in Minneapolis, where he tangled with a prominent writer known only as Angry Mouse. Hundreds of other writers were there, too, since Pfeiffer was headlining a conference for liberal bloggers. MORE...

(Updated)White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer NOW @NN11 (LIVE streaming video)

UPDATE: Here's the archived version of the Dan Pfeiffer interview. Alex Pareene (Salon) writes "White House spokesman and Kos blogger have uncomfortable chat."

Free Speech TV, streaming video.

Howie P.S.: I can't imagine Gibbs doing this particular task very well. Kaili Joy Grey (Daily Kos) is the interviewer.

NN11 Panel: "Structural barriers to progressive success" (video)

FreeSpeechTV, video (01:13:00).

Howie P.S.: Darcey Burner leads a panel with David Waldman (Kagro X) and Ari Berman.

Howard Dean @NN11 on Obama

Evan McMorris-Santoro (TPM):

But he declined to criticize Obama over his choice to continue the fighting without asking Congress to weigh in.

"I would," Dean said when asked if he'd request the congressional war authorization the White House decided not to this week.

"But I'm not willing to go after Obama on that one," Dean said.
(SNIP)
But Dean promised to "work my ass off" for Obama next year -- and he gave the president a pass on Libya.

"There's plenty of things that we can have disagreements on on but that's -- everyone picks their own things that they deeply care about," Dean said. "And I care deeply about social justice in this country." MORE...

(Updated) "What to do when The President is just not that into you."---Hotshot Panel LIVE NOW on NN11 (streaming video)

UPDATE II: Joel Connelly reports from NN11: "Liberals have no love for Obama."

UPDATE: Booman tells us why "I declined to attend the Netroots Nation conference." He also takes on some of the participants on this panel (Jane Hamsher and John Aravosis):

There's a line between principled advocacy for the issues you care about and being a careerist champion of the disgruntled.

Upton Sinclair used to say, ""It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" That's what happened to a big part of the blogosphere.

Howie P.S.: The comments are also worth a look. Elise Foley (HuffPo) chimes in with "Progressives 'Break Up' With Obama."


Free Speech TV (streaming video).

Howie P.S.: "What to do when The President is just not that into you."