How did ‘08 hopefuls impress the Yearly Kos attendees? Here’s the bribe-list, per Michael Scherer at Salon:

• Mark Warner: Elvis impersonator, “vodka-chilling ice sculpture, a chocolate fondue waterfall, and free roller-coaster rides.” And t-shirts.
• Wesley Clark: Afterparty at Hard Rock Hotel, “limited supply of bottled beer and cheap red wine.”
• Bill Richardson: Breakfast pastries, “praise for the blogging community.”
• Tim Tom Vilsack: (You know he’s golden when we get his name wrong) Nothin’.

Analysis: Vilsack’s a lock for the nomination.

How much is that blogger in the window? [Salon]

‘cause I was sittin’ there bored to death…

Yearly Kos was a great success!

I just got a call that someone “crashed my gate” and drove through my house, driving through my office and my daughter’s room (her crib turned up in the backyard). Had we been home, there would have been a good chance that I would have been working at my desk, and she would have certainly been sleeping in bed. Instead, though, I was here and she was staying with my folks, so the family’s fine.

Kos and other blog superstars in attendance made sure to caution that it may be another 5-to-10 years before the survival of ct and his daughter mat be demonstrated on a national level, but in the meantime, Wesley Clark would like to buy your vote you a drink.

BONUS WONKETTE INSTANT LEDE: “Bloggers” and their readers are the new Iowa (cite Joe Trippi) — destined to be roundly ignored for three years then shamelessly pandered to for a couple furious months. Or nights. What happens in Vegas, etc.

Yearly Kos May Have Saved My Life [Kos via Chase Me Ladies]

• Delayed discovery of three detainee suicides at Guantanamo Bay raises questions concerning whether regulations for supervision of prisoners were followed. Army general compares the suicides to the 9/11 attacks. [NYT; WP]
• Race between House immigration hawk J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) and Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell is shaping up as a referendum on immigration policy. [WP]
• Immigration issue also complicates Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election bid in California. [WSJ]
• Iran offers initial reaction to Western nuclear proposal; deems some parts acceptable, but offers no specifics. [WP]
• Democrats’ chances of scoring wins in governors’ races may be slipping. [USAT]
• Prominent Democrats schmooze with bloggers at Yearly Kos, reflecting growing clout of netroots. [Time; LAT]
• Deputy national security adviser Meghan L. O’Sullivan plays key role in shaping President Bush’s views on Iraq. [NYT]
• G-8 nations express concern over debt burdens of developing nations. [WSJ]
• States use new freedom from federal Medicaid rules to reshape the program so that it looks more like private insurance. [WP]
• Justice Department study reports that Arab-Americans fear racial profiling and immigration enforcement more than hate crimes. [NYT]
• Four Democrats in Congress issue statement defending indicted law firm known for plaintiffs’ class action lawsuits. [NYT]

• The Counterterrorism Blog keeps track of reactions to Zarqawi’s death. Proterrorism Blog strangely silent all day. [The Counterterrorism Blog]
• Shockey news on House Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Terroristster.com. [TPM Muckraker One and Two]
• Yearly Kos attendees starting to lose us: “We, the people, are coming to power slowly and indefatigably, here in Vegas.” [Daily Kos]
• In Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) 2005 book, It Takes a Family, he talks about the “weird socialization” of public school kids. For the audio book, he grasps for poll numbers and changes the language to “strange socialization.” [Attytood]
• ABC News publishes the name and picture of the informant who ratted out Zarqawi. It’s cool that ABC’s The Blotter allows open comments, especially today when the commenters are pissed. [The Blotter]

Oh, man, should we have been paying attention to this? Seriously? We’ve known about it for a while, seemed like it might be fun, thought about trying to convince someone to pay for us to go to Vegas, but seriously, we thought it’d be like a Mediabistro party, you know, cash bar and classes in getting the attention of actual important people. But the media presence there is nuts. Three NPR reporters, a couple Times-ites (including Maureen Dowd and, above, Kate Phillips, inexplicably writing in first-person and bitching about having to get up early), Original Wonkette, and probably two dozen freelancers trying to pitch it to magazines.

C-Span’s covering it, if you want to watch. It’s almost like being there, but without the glamor and glitz of hotel convention rooms!

Liberal Bloggers Gather in Las Vegas for Convention [NYT]
C-Span
YearlyKos