From the column: Alabama news about the Democratic National Convention

By Jennifer J. Foster

You might already know this, but fellow Alabama blogger Danny, of Doc’s Political Parlor, has been tapped by the Democratic National Commitee to serve as the Heart of Dixie’s representative in the blogging corps at the national convention.

Read the formal announcement here.

Danny does a great job keeping an eye on state politics. He’ll do a great job keeping an eye on things for us in Denver.

But here’s more exciting news: Danny has agreed to talk with me ahead of the convention about all the goings-on as he prepares to cover the event in August. He’ll give us a behind-the-scenes look at what he’s doing to prepare, what he’s hearing from convention organizers and all the buzz among his 49 fellow bloggers ahead of what could be the wildest convention since the infamous 1968 Chicago convention.

Congratulations, Danny! We can’t wait to talk with you!

And speaking of McClellan ...

By Jennifer J. Foster

Lightning must have struck their leaders, because MoveOn.org has actually come up with a great idea:

The liberal anti-war group MoveOn.org today launched a petition drive calling on former White House official Scott McClellan to donate the proceeds of his book to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

“McClellan shouldn’t profit off the role he played in our nation’s largest foreign policy blunder,” the release reads.

“After spending years defending the Bush administration and perpetuating the lies that led our country into war, Scott McClellan is poised to make bank — his tell-all book is a bestseller and he may make hundreds of thousands or millions,” MoveOn says. “Meanwhile, our troops are still dying in Iraq.”

This goes to the heart of what I was saying yesterday: All the evidence suggests that financial considerations drove the timing and tone of McClellan’s book. In other words, it looks like McClellan needed to make a few bucks; for his part, he hasn’t denied it when given the chance.

That’s why it would really lend a lot of credibility to his argument and to his supposed attack of conscience if McClellan did take this suggestion and donate the proceeds from the book to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the chances that McClellan will donate his big bucks to that cause—or to any cause other than Scott McClellan, for that matter—exist only in theory.

Maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on the guy. After all, gas is nearing $4 a gallon. Extra cash is more important than integrity these days, anyway ... right, Scott?