French (and, now, Valley) entrepreneur and blogger Loic Le Meur has been invited to tonight’s White House concert honoring French President Sarkozy — and he’s blogging it.

Here’s a blast from an almost four-year-old, distant past: over the past few days there has been a micro-debate about the identity of the “first White House blogger.” I found out about it because William Beutler discovered some dead links on the rexblog (now fixed) related to posts relevant to the topic I made a few years back. He was responding to a post from Micah Sifry on the techPresident weblog related to a recurring mini-dispute over who gets credit for being the first blogger to receive White House press credentials.

However, a year before that “credentialed” blogging happened — as William points out — I did some un-credentialed blogging at the White House — and not of a briefing, but of a private meeting with the President that (I learned later) was off-limits to the press. (This link will take you to a category that groups — reverse chronological — all of the posts related to that event.)

Coincidentally, when I was in Washington on Monday of this week, I ran into the former administration official who set up that White House meeting I participated in back in 2004. It was the first time I’d seen him since that day and he told me the White House press office “went nuts” when they learned (via the Washington Post) that I blogged the meeting. (On the other hand, Patrick Ruffini, who had recently joined the Bush campaign and was heading up their grassroots web strategy, was quick to view my post as something they should point. After that, Patrick and I became friends.) As I said at the time, as I was leaving, a White House press person asked me if I’d talk with a reporter and told me I could tell him anything I wanted to. I figured if I had permission to do that, I had permission to report on the meeting myself. Today, we call that “citizen journalism.” Dan Gillmor used the meeting as an example in his book We the Media (Amazon link) a few months later — which is when I learned I was a “citizen journalist.”

I wasn’t then or now a “political” blogger — and, frankly, I didn’t consider my post “political,” but rather a “geez, people, guess what I just did,” post. (Those were simpler days of blogging innocence.) At the time (remember, it was nearly two years before the last election), most political bloggers who wrote about it at the time — from the right and left — thought it was great that I blogged the meeting.

Why bring this all up again? At best, it’s a historical footnote. But, hey, it’s this weblog’s historical footnote.

Gee, while I’ve been wi-fi-free in western Massachusetts all day, my question earlier regarding something that, while perhaps not that historically significant, deserves a clarifying asterisk, was answered by the Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin:

“So while Pfeiffer was indeed the first blogger to blog from the White House briefing room, Graff can still claim credit for being the first blogger granted a day pass purely on his blogging credentials. And that was the precedent that paved the way for other bloggers. Brewer, for instance, is a volunteer blogger who happens to be a scientist by profession. Just to add to the confusion, the first person to have blogged a White House event, as far as I know, is neither Pfeiffer nor Graff. It’s Rex Hammock. (See my Feb. 20, 2004 column.) He blogged a private meeting with Bush more than a year ago.”

Who was the first White House blogger? This is old news, in a couple of ways, but Robert Cox blogged something last night that, for obvious reasons, made me a little curious, myself. Bob, in reference to the publicity Garrett Graff received for his efforts to be the first blogger to get a day-pass to attend a White House press briefing, says that Garrett asked him whether or not that was a “first.”

Here’s Bob’s answer:

“Being credentialed “yes” blogging from the White House “no”. I imagine there are more than a few anoniblogs coming from folks working for the Administration and I do know that MBA Member Rex Hammock made news blogging a meeting with President Bush a year ago. For now I’d give the “first” nod to Rex….”

As the “blogging” part of being at the White House was a rather spontaneous thing, I’ve never really thought of it as being any kind of “first.” Frankly, it was not until Dan Gillmor mentioned it in his book, We the Media, that I considered it being anything of a blogging milestone (other than the historic reason this weblog will likely ever be linked to by Farked.com).

While Robert Cox, the founder of the Media Bloggers Association, is a great observer of such things and I’ll take his word, I can think of at least two others who may be able to make a ruling on who was the first White House blogger as they had a fairly close observation point during the period: The Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin and Patrick Rufinni, who served as webmaster of Bush-Cheney campaign.

Ironically, Patrick agrees with little Dan has to say these days.

Tomorrow, this weblog gets back off the grid. However, I thought I would spend my final few moments under the glare of blogdex to collect and share my “take-away” from the past few days. The following random thoughts may also serve as answers to some of the questions I’ve received in a volume of non-spam e-mail that is, well, a bit more voluminous than usual. Here goes:

1. It still amazes me how many people are not familiar with the terms web log or blogging, and I’m talking about very educated, well-read individuals who use the Internet and represent widely divergent political points of view.

2. I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who have e-mailed me telling me not to take seriously the “kooks” who say bad things about me. Don’t worry. I’ve participated in and led online communities dating back to being the “sysop” of a CompuServe forum, so I know the terrain and wear an all-season flame retardant suit. I’m experienced with people calling me a dumbass. But I can’t thank enough people like Mark, Tim (in Phoenix), David, Jason, Robert, Daniel, Ben, Stacy and many others who wrote because they appreciated what I had to say.

3. The 13-year-old Simpsons expert in my household says this reminds him of the episode when Homer becomes an accidentally famous artist for 24-hours and then has to live up to the expectations of Jasper Johns and others. Frankly, I expected him to select the episode in which Lisa wins a trip to Washington and nabs a congressman in a sting operation. He’s the expert, however.

4. The response to my blogging about my visit with the President reminds me of a few books (one of which is the Jerzy Kosinki novella Being There on which was based the movie by the same name that was alluded to in a previous post). All the speculation about my motivations found on Fark and DailyKos reminds me of last year’s novel by William Gibson, Pattern Recognition, which, in effect, is a mystery novel in which the mystery being solved regards the motives and origins of the individuals responsible for fragments of a film being released online. How can marketers capture and bottle the meme-based publicity magic each fragment release generates? The “villain” ad guy must know at any cost. Another science fiction novel from a year or so ago, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by BoingBoing blogger, author and self-described Canadian snob Cory Doctorow also came to mind as in it, he describes a future currency called Whuffie that is based on the reputation one earns from others (ala, eBay feedback). I realized when I came under attack as some kind of “plant” that my previous years of non-political blogging had built me up some Whuffie. After this weekend, however, I think all my Whuffie’s been spent.

5. Several “alpha” bloggers, even those who passionately disagree with the President, “get” what I did in blogging the visit and have said nice things to me via e-mail or about it on their blogs, which I appreciate. They know the progress of whatever this is (citizen journalism?) is moved forward a notch every time something like my blogging the meeting helps raise the visibility of the activity to a broader audience.

6. I have spent my career in marketing, advertising, PR and publishing. I know a flash in the pan when I see one. I know the hook is yanking me off the stage even as I hit the “post to home page” button. I am happily journeying towards a destination called “yesterday’s news.”

7. Final word: I am a very blessed individual in many ways. However any business success I may enjoy today or in the future did not come without some significant setbacks along the way. In others words, I have failed big-time and have the appreciation for success (for that matter, for mere survival) that comes as one of the only positive benefits of such major setbacks or obstacles. While it was the fickle finger of fate that allowed me to spend time chatting with the President of the United States last Thursday, I am much more blessed everyday in non-business ways than at work; like, for example, the chance I’ve had this afternoon of spending a few hours with my son roaming the neighborhood and playing pitch. So many fateful factors provide the foundation of my enviable position of being one of the “many Rexes out there.” But I don’t mind saying in a private conversation or in what has proven to be such an unexpectedly public venue as the previously obscure rexblog, the American traditions of individual freedom and free enterprise and the limited role of government in the operation of small businesses make it possible for me to strive with hope and passion for success for me and my family. It is my personal belief, a personal belief I am well aware that I do not share with all who read this, that we have a President who deeply understands this and is committed to preserving those traditions. His stance on several social issues may not line up with yours or mine, but I’m solidly in support of him when it comes to what I believe is his commitment to standing up to those who would destroy the economic freedoms we enjoy which, by the way, under gird and enable the liberties we have to spend hours online debating whether or not I’m a dupe or why the President gave me a nickname.

8. Final, final word. If you want to read about magazine industry news or my occasional post about Nashville, bluegrass music or the Tennessee Titans, those resume on the rexblog tomorrow. I’m hoping this is it for my 15 minutes of political blogging.

Thanks to all those who love President Bush and have e-mailed me thanks and praise.

Thanks to all those who hate President Bush and have e-mailed me explaining why I’m a fool, dupe or, my favorite, a “Karl Rove operative.”

It should come as no surprise that I find it much more engaging to avoid the hate mail and to read the articulate observations of intelligent individuals who really despise Bush but still believe that the English language is best understood when the words are lined up using certain syntactical conventions. (Typos and misspellings are fine in real-time blogging and commenting, but I’ve been receiving some jumbled gibberish that, ironically, is trying to convince me how unintelligent the President is.)

For an example of enlightened anti-Bush discourse, this evening on DailyKos, some very bright Bushophobes are dissecting my observations with some thoughtful and insightful scalpels.

I’ll admit, however, that one of my favorite of the comments is one of the lesser insightful ones, but is, nonetheless, a funny post (anonymous, however [later: correction: posted by “kelly”]) about the President giving me the nickname Hammock Man:

Sheesh. That’s not a cute nickname, it’s a mnemonic device so Bush could remember his name for the speech. Doesn’t this guy (Rex Hammock) know that? Kinda sad… Well, at least Rex is a publisher and not a Speedo manufacturer… (Note: His source on the “mnemonic device” insight is a piece by Gail Sheehy.)

Dear Sheesh [Later: I mean kelly]: Of course I knew that Hammock Man was a mnemonic device so that Bush could remember my name for the speech. I also suspected that the name placard sitting in front of me and my name written boldly on the notes sitting on his podium were also mnemonic devices to help him remember my name. But, Sheesh. you don’t seem to be getting the point that others in your discussion are. George W. Bush understands (like Bill Clinton) that humans are wired in such a way as to appreciate it when others of the species go to the trouble of using mnemonic devices to remember their names.

As for the Speedo-comment. Perhaps you can read more Gail Sheehy to seek a better understanding of why that word-association popped into your mind.

Farked: Oh, to be Farked with a “cool” icon. You should all be so Farked once in your life. If you want to read how some very funny people (and some very, well, lonely ones) can rip you apart (and also say nice things) on a Saturday night, check out the comments that are going on about me at one of my favorite websites. Gee, if only the White House would release a picture of my meeting with President Bush so that Farkers could photoshop it. Also, thanks to the Farker from the University of Buffalo who has mirrored the rexblog because the traffic coming from Fark has clobbered the poor Weblogs.Com servers.

I’ve enjoyed a comfortable obscurity with this weblog for over two years…and I will sink back into that obscurity in about a day. But every blogger should have the experience once of being praised and skewered like I’m getting from all sides right now.

For example, “Amanda” writes me:

Hammock Man, you are nothing but a mouthpiece for the Bush regime, this visit was a pre-arranged setup and so????what’s the big deal?? What’d you expect? He has millions of dollars and a world of advice how to conduct himself, especially around gullible in-the-tank- to the murderous Bush regime rubes like yourself.

At least the “official” (yet anonymous) Bush re-election weblog says my blogging was “vivid and enjoyable.”

“DHindle” writes to question my acceptance of the President’s “dominance” play over me by the nickname thing:

I’m sure you are getting way too much email even to read it all.

In case you see this…

I don’t get it.

I don’t understand why you would embrace and applaud G W Bush giving you
an unsolicited nickname.

If he did that to me, I would get up and walk out. I wouldn’t let any
man — president or not — impose a nickname on me. Is this some kind
of boy lockerroom thing? Is it some Southern thing?

As far as I can see it is just Bush using words to assert his dominance
over you. Why do you accept/enjoy that?

Gee, Dwindle, I mean Dhindle, I’m glad you pointed that out. I hadn’t thought about it that way. You know, I am a southerner and maybe that’s why I felt it was okay for the Leader of the Free World to assert his dominance over me.

Speaking of getting skewered, I’ve obviously touched a sore spot with some folks who have suggested I’m an operative of Karl Rove because my company has as a client NFIB and NFIB is, well, you can read it for yourself.

I challenge anyone to go back through two years of my daily blogging to find a pattern of posts that would suggest to anyone that I would be a good Rovian operative. It is no secret what I do and who my clients are and I said in my first post exactly why I was invited.

If this keeps up, however, I’ll gladly volunteer my operative services.

Almost forgot. The Washington Post’s Dan Froomking asks me publicly the following question: “Still unclear, however, is why the White House closed the meeting to journalists. Rex, can you clear that one up for us?” I guess the polite thing to do would be to answer.

I have no idea, Dan. But here’s my guess. The format of the meeting changed a few times leading up to the meeting. I think, and this is just a guess, that the President truly wanted the opportunity to talk with us about some personal things outside the view of journalists. Remember, we were talking about taxes and frankly, I don’t know how honest one would feel discussing the amount of his or her tax refund in a room full of journalists on live TV. I didn’t mind talking about business expensing of computer equipment, but the other individuals were being asked about some personal information that would have been clearly out-of-bounds: estate plans, childcare, personal challenges. It’s one thing to tell the President of the Unitetd States how you used your tax refund. It’s quite another to tell the viewers of CNN.

The Washington Post is reporting that I blogged a private White House meeting. I’ll admit that I didn’t ask permission to blog the event. Didn’t think to. (Okay, what? Don’t ask, don’t tell…that you’re a blogger.) It not’s exactly a secret that I blog stuff all day, every day. And frankly, I can’t imagine anyone at the White House being upset with me for sharing how great a guy the President is and how I support his tax policies. Okay. I promise. Next time I’m invited for a private meeting with the President of the United States, I will ask permission to blog it. Promise. Anytime. I’ll even keep it private if he wants me to.

Usually, when I link to a story I have something snappy to say. I’m somewhat overwhelmed by this story by Rob Johnson of the Tennessean, however. I don’t know what to say. Other than, thanks for extending my 15 minutes of fame another few hours.

[Later: My first read of this story was online. Now that I’ve seen it in print and realize it is on the front page, I’m, well, even more speechless.]

By the way, thanks also to Laura Faber of the Nashville TV station Fox 17 who interviewed me for a story.

Only one slight clarification, however, on the long, long Tennessean story. The White House, in calling NFIB, was looking for a small business owner…not just someone who would like to meet the president. I know Rob was probably quoting me, but they were definitely looking for someone with a specific experience to share with the president.

A blogger hero of mine, Jeff Jarvis, has given me a nice shout out for my visit with the President post. I must say that I was thinking of Jeff and his moving accounts of how September 11 changed him when I was preparing for the meeting. No lie. Also, I did feel like (and while some of you will get this, non-bloggers will think it ridiculous) I had an obligation to other bloggers to record as much of my personal point-of-view of the experience as I could. I know we all disagree on where we stand on the issues and how we perceive President Bush, but I felt even his detractors would appreciate a blogger-version of the experience.

My Warholian 15 45 minutes: I’m writing this in a cab on my way to BWI for a flight back home to Nashville. I just walked out of the Old Executive Office Building where four other “real people” and I sat down for a 25-minute chat with the President of the United States. Then the five of us stood behind him while he told a room full of people why the tax cuts he has championed should be made permanent. (That’s me on the right in the picture.)

I happen to agree with his sentiment strongly. I was there as a representative small business owner who is using the increased capital expensing provisions of the Bush tax plan to invest in a wide range of hardware and software for my business. I’m also a proponent of the common sense logic that Congress should make the death tax repeal permanent.

But here, I’m just blogging what the experience was like
and I won’t be debating policy in this weblog. Not my thing. (You can read about the policy statements here. A press release is also on the Hammock Publishing website.)

I’ll talk a little about the logistics of visiting with the President later, but first I wanted to give my impressions of the experience. The President sat with us at a conference table between me and a young stay-at-home mother of two whose husband is a police officer (and, like me, a expat Alabamian). Across from the three of us sat two other young women and an older man, an apple farmer from Gettysburg, Penn. One of the women was a single mother of two who works full time and takes graduate school classes online. The other was a mom who works fulltime.

There were a few staffers around the edges of the room, including the logistics and policy people who had planned the event and a White House photographer. The President’s Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, sat at the end of the table as a quiet observer,

Each participant had a name card in front of us and the Prersident was quick to use our first names in chatting with us about our work and families, especially asking us about how we had used any tax refunds or incentives. Only a few people knew I was going to do this, but more than one asked jokingly if I thought the President would give me a nickname. I’m happy not to disappoint them. He did. He turned to me once to ask a question and said, “How ’bout you, Hammock Man?”

He had a job to do, to draw out our insights and examples for the public remarks he was about to make. We had a job to do, as well: To be real people from out in the real world, brought into the bubble that is the White House. As one of the participants, I can confirm that nothing was scripted or rehearsed except for the advance people’s efforts to put us at ease. And despite knowing what the topic was of our discussion, any one of us could have asked or said anything we cared to.

I didn’t know I was going to particpate until 48 hours before and most of the conversations I had with White House staff regarded logistics and background. I’ve never made a campaign contribution to the President and have never been in a grip and grin situation with him. I’ve been in the White House during the Reagan years (when I worked on Capital Hill for a Democrat), but this was my first up close and personal with a President. And definitely the first time a President has used my name in a speech.

(I know I must be rambling, but again, this is blogging, what someone I know who is no Bush fan has called “the rough draft of history.” So forgive me. Oh yes, why me? I was suggested to the White House staff by my friends at NFIB, who knew I was in D.C. for a few days. It turned out that an NFIB alumni was the White House policy person with whom I communicated most in working out the logistics.)

The President looks and sounds exactly like the guy on TV. He knows, I’m sure, that we all think we know him. He is charming and was as hospitable as anyone I’ve ever met. He made us feel that he was grateful to us for coming to visit him (like we would turn him down) and was genuinely comfortable in both the chit-chat and the policy talk. He especially enjoyed talking with the apple farmer as he was able to talk about the trees he is growing on his ranch in Crawford.

He shared with us an anecdote about a recent dinner he had with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi during which the conversation turned to North Korea. He said that during the conversation, the thought occured to him that it was special that the U.S. and Japan, one-time enemies, are working together to solve a complex situation that threatens world peace. He said the experience made him curious about what future leaders in the U.S. and the leaders of Iraq and Afghanistan might one day 50 years from now be trying to solve together.

He listened intensely to each of us, making notes that he referred to later in his public remarks. I mentioned how it was hard to make plans in business during times of uncertainty, a remark he picked up as a theme in his public remarks. He had a command of the issues we were discussing and had spent time looking over the notes about us. He took notes (using a Sharpie pen) as we talked and then used those notes in the remarks he made. While he had a few pages of prepared notes, he spoke extemporaneously.

He is definitely not a wonk, but he knows clearly what he believes needs to happen for the country and its eocnomy to prosper. I don’t think the circular arguments regarding “what ifs” and “what abouts” interest him. Nor me, for that matter.

I talked to the President about my business and my employees and how difficult a time it had been in 2001 and 2002. I said something like the following to him, which I meant sincerely, “Mr. President, I never thought I would have the opportunity to say this personally to you on behalf of me and my family and those I work with and lots of people out there, After September 11, one of the most difficult situations I faced in my business was uncertainity on the part of my clients and customers
and really everyone. More than anything, I appreciate the steadfast leadership you displayed after September 11 and the message of calm that sent to the American people and businesses.”

Hey, I know it sounds obsequious, but I meant it sincerely.

Other observations based on specific requests I had before the visit: The President was dressed impecibly in a conservative all-season wool gray suit (Brooks Brothers? or tailored) with a very muted plaid pattern. He wore a blue shirt and dark blue tie, nearly identical to the tie I was wearing, coincidentally. He wore cufflinks which, since I was about six inches from his arm, noticed were about the size of a dime and even looked like a dime, but had a colorful enamel finish — perhaps Lady Liberty? I was trying not to be too obvious a site-seeing redneck. He looked natural (no heavy makeup for the TV lights we were headed for), healthy and calm.

He joked with us at times, and even jestfully slammed his palm down on the table while making a point about convincing Congress to make the tax package permanent.

At the end of our private time with the President he turned a little serious and talked a bit about Iraq and the war on terrorism. I don’t recall his exact words, but his message was that it is up to America to take the lead in spreading freedom and democracy and stability in the world.

Bottom line: If George W. Bush could spend 25 minutes chatting with everybody in America like he did with me and five other folks today, he would win any election by a landslide. Despite the formality of the setting, he immediately put us all at ease with grace and hospitality. He was personable and seemed genuinely curious about each of us and our individual points of view on the subject we were there to discuss.

He’d be a great guy with whom to watch a football game.

President Bush remarks about Hammock man:

Rex Hammock is with us. Last stander. From Nashville, Tennessee. He started his own company. I love the entrepreneurial spirit. Don’t you love to be in a country where people feel comfortable about — (applause) — where people feel comfortable and free to start their own business. And by the way, government’s role is to create an environment where the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, where people feel free and comfortable doing that.

And he did, and he’s got what is called a subchapter S corporation. Many of you know what that means, but for those who don’t, it means that you get taxed at the individual income tax level. So when we cut the rates on everybody, not just a few, it helped Rex, made him a little more comfortable in his ability to plan. But more importantly, by raising the level of deductibility for small businesses to $100,000, it provided incentive for him to invest. And so this year, he told me he’s going to spend $100,000 on computers, scanners and software to help his employees in his publishing business become more productive. It means they’re more competitive. When you’re more competitive, you’ve got a more productive work force, and when you’re competitive, it means you’re more likely to stay in business. And it means you’re more likely — your work force is more likely to have steady work. And if you really get productive and can compete, it means you add employees. And he added two last year, and he plans on adding five this year.

Now, there’s a lot of Rexes in the country, and you put two on here and five on there, and all of a sudden, there’s a lot of people beginning to find jobs. And that’s important. That’s how jobs grow, through the individual decision-making of thousands of entrepreneurs and employers around the country.

He wants to invest in ‘05 and ‘06, same amounts. But as I told you, this aspect of the tax relief package will expire unless Congress acts. He said it’s really hard — and he’s right, by the way — really hard to be a planner with — in the face of tax uncertainty. How can you plan if you’re not certain about what the tax code looks like? And there are entrepreneurs all over the country who are uncertain about what the tax code will look like after ‘06 because the tax relief plan has got uncertainties built into it. And an important aspect of the tax relief plan is the deductibility for small businesses; then it goes away. Congress needs to make all aspects of the tax code permanent so people can plan their businesses and their lives. (Applause.)

Actually, I don’t think there are a lot of Rexes…it’s a somewhat rare name. However, I couldn’t agree more with what he says. Come to think of it, maybe there are alot of Rexes in Texas.

Note: When the rexblog was moved from its old platform to Wordpress, this post was somehow lost. In replacing it, the comments were deleted. Sorry for the glitch.

(Thanks to Blair for helping me post this item written a couple of hours ago as I’m in the process of making my way to BWI and have no access to the Internet.)

In the two years I’ve maintained this weblog, the vast majority of posts have been links to and comments about the magazine industry, topics I found (and continue to find) to be “underblogged” elsewhere. I chose not to make this an outlet for personal rants or political stances, primarily because I don’t enjoy weblogs with personal rants. And politics and policy are topics I deal with in my real job and frankly are too overblogged for me to spend time adding to the fray. Besides, I believe that when one gets intimately close to the political or lawmaking process, one often loses perspective of what is really happening and what the true importance of the issues are.

I say all this as a heads-up to anyone who has made the rexblog an RSS feed for its magazine news. Sometime later tonight (probably, around 10 p.m. central time), I will be posting to this blog an item that will be political in nature and while it will be related to my experience as the owner of a publishing company, it will have little to do with magazines.

I will be blogging about a meeting I just had at the White House with the President of the United States. (Believe me, that last sentence was without a doubt, the most surreal I have ever typed.)

There should be a press release at Hammock.com about the meeting but I won’t have web access until my flight back to Nashville, so it will be later tonight before I post the “blogging version” of the experience.

I didn’t attend this meeting as a reporter or interviewer, so what you’ll get later will be a blogger’s-view of getting to talk with the President about a specific topic of shared interest: the need for permanence in tax reform.