The Occasional Observer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama's pledge to supporters that they would be the "first to know" his running mate turned out to be a savvy but unworkable communications strategy.

The Democratic presidential candidate got scooped by the media on his own announcement, done in by dogged reporting, loose-lipped party insiders and the limits of technology.

But all was not lost. He amassed a huge database of cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses for the fall campaign.

Of course, that was really the point, wasn't it? If the Obamabots thought they were going to be "first to get the news," how'd that one work out? If you were toking away at 3AM, I guess you were first. For everyone else, they woke up to the story blasting away on cable news. The texts were a real scoop for believers [\sarcasm].

What a scam!