Classic "Grumps":

(One of the highlights believe it or not, of the Real and Virtual Candidate Forum was the introduction, where "Grumps" summarized the revolution that has happened recently, nationally and locally. "


Good morning and my thanks to you all for coming out this morning.

This week President Bush said, “One of the things that we've got to value is the fact that we do have a media, free media, that's able to do what they want to do. -- there's word of mouth, there's blogs, there's Internet, there's all kinds of ways to communicate which is literally changing the way people are getting their information.”

That’s part of the reason we are here today. Weblogging is changing the way Americans interact. In an increasingly busy society the Internet gives people the chance to get news and comment on it on their own terms. Our candidates are here this morning to answer our questions and will expand on their answers to these and to a few others later on The Evansville Observer. The voters of Evansville will then have the opportunity to weigh in on those answers and to move the debate forward.

I was tempted to show up here today in my pajamas. There are those who feel that bloggers never leave their basements. They are mistaken. Bloggers are your neighbors, your daughters, sons and coworkers. Some estimates say that one new weblog is started every second. Bloggers are the pamphleteers of the 21st Century, just hoping to get the word out to help voters inform their choices.

Thank you for being a part of this. Now I’m proud to turn over this conversation to our current mayor, Janis Rinhand.