So, this is what it’s like to post on someone else’s blog. Hmm, strange. It feels a little like wearing someone else’s skin. Not in a Buffalo Bill kind of way (“It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again”. Heh.) but in a stepping into someone else’s life sort of way. Picking up their dry cleaning, eating their cereal and drinking from their favorite coffee cup sort of way. Like trespassing, but with permission.

I’ll try not to put the throw pillows back in the wrong order, J. Okay?

Although she knows my humor, was well aware, in fact, of my proclivity toward the more sophomoric and oftentimes scatterbrained/freeform (read:manic) blog behavior, PunditMom still chose me to pinch hit while she was away. That could have been a very bad idea. However, I don’t feel comfortable sullying the clean sheets and gleaming surfaces of my friend’s blog. I want to be the perfect blog guest, just as some strive to be the perfect house guest or house sitter.

But it wasn’t always that way.

There once was a time when I was a young teen taking babysitting jobs to pay for my designer jeans habit. Once the parents drove away and my young charges were snug as bugs in their beds I would take stock of the inventory of their kitchen cabinets. Chips? Cookies? What sort of snack could I lay my grubby little hands on? Chips and cookies? And the leftover pizza, too? Yes, please. If there was no Coca Cola or Pepsi in the fridge I was sent into dyspeptic fits (And, no, not diet. Please no diet soda. Anything but that.), but if there were kids in the house who were old enough, there was almost always Kool-Aid to drink. But I did not, I repeat DID NOT, ever raid my employer’s liquor cabinet. I was a good girl, thankyouverymuch.

Stop laughing.

Once my hands were sufficiently greasy I’d promptly get on the phone with my best friend. Ooh, you’re going out with your boyfriend tonight? And his best buddy is tagging along? The cute one?? Come on over! Sure, the owner of the house won’t mind.

They minded. Trust me.

It’s not like we were having wild monkey sex (Oops, sorry, J. I tried to be good.), swinging from the ceiling fans with a bottle of Boone’s Farm in one hand and a joint in the other. But we were not in any way, shape or form neat. Or quiet. Or respectful of their personal belonging.

To the kind husband and wife who gave me what would end up being my last babysitting gig: I’m very sorry for what happened to the lamp. I’m sure you discovered the crack not too long after driving me home that night. I harbor no hard feelings towards you for never calling me back to sit for your kids.

But, to my defense, the husband was completely snackered when he drove me home. I figure it’s payback for him scaring the bejeebus out of me.

So, you see, I have learned over time by having my own house sitters as well as blog sitters that being respectful of the owner’s space gets you an invite back. And recommendations for other gigs. No pressure, J.

I think it’s a nice custom when visiting someone to bring a gift. Since I can’t leave J. a nice bottle of ’97 Brunello di Montalcino (’cause I’m saving that for myself) I’ll instead leave her something that I think will make her chuckle when she reads this:

From one liberal to another, thanks for letting me raid your space, J. I promise I won’t tell anyone about that framed and autographed picture of Fred Thompson that you keep in your bedside table, tucked under your dog-eared copy of L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics.

One of the things I do is track the issues-based discussions of various segments of the blogosphere, and I was struck by PunditMom’s recent post about the candidates snubbing BlogHer. I was shocked as everyone that so many candidates (though not all) didn’t find this conference important enough to attend, because we all know women who write and read blogs are more likely to be leaders in their own online and offline communities. Instead, the candidates – and particularly the Democrats – are paying quite a bit of attention to “political blogs.”

If you look at those blogs (and many PunditMom readers do) you tend to notice that, with few exceptions, political blog posts are typically just variations on a single, simple theme – the latest outrage from the other side. Think about it – one of the most popular bloggers on the left offers a “wanker of the day.” On the right, we have posts literally entitled, “outrage.” (I try not to link to specific political bloggers here because this is PunditMom’s space and I don’t want to clutter it.)

If you look at the discussions moms (and more generally, women) are having, they’re constructive discussions about the most important issues – healthcare, education, the environment, balancing work and family, and even the war. It just takes on a more personal perspective.

So why are the campaigns focusing on the blogs that just scream at the base, while ignoring the blogs that discuss the issues like adults?

MONEY. The “mother’s milk of American politics.” Political blogs raise hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars for candidates. Bloggers are de facto contribution bundlers, giving them an amazing amount of access to the candidates and power within their respective parties. And oddly enough, much if not most of this money will be spent on advertising in the mainstream media.

Moms, for the most part, are too busy making ends meet to worry about raising money for candidates online. Sure, moms contribute too – but many see their blogs as a means of personal expression and a way to belong to a community, not as a way to shill for candidates.

So if you want to start getting some of the attention you deserve from our candidates, what do you do?

One option is, frankly, to start raising money. For many moms, this really isn’t an option because it’s inconsistent with the purpose of your blog and most don’t like asking others for money anyway.

Another option is to start leveraging your blogs, facebook groups, and other stuff as Get Out The Vote tools. Social media technology is so advanced now that we can broadcast text messages from twitter or blogs or any number of tools that help identify supporters and remind them to vote on election day. GOTV is second only to money in terms of what candidates want most from the outside.

The easiest and best option, however, is to do what PunditMom does – write with passion and clarity about the political issues that matter most to you, and do it without calling other people nasty names. Great writing motivates people to action better than a crappy television commercial – it just takes a little longer. It’s the difference between broad support and deep support. People who engage in the conversations PunditMom leads are more invested in the issues and more likely to vote on election day. The candidates that politely and constructively enter those discussions are more likely to earn the support of those who care most and work hardest.

Eventually the candidates are going to realize that while money will always be important, the discussions and ideas raised in them matter most. Then, when they finally knock on your virtual doors, you can ask them what took them so long.

Yup, I’ve gotta get that laundry done (again!?) and pack, (again!!?)

But, I can’t complain, because by this time tomorrow night, we should be winging our way across the pond to exercise the little bit of French I possess, as long as the flights are more reliable than they were for the majority of BlogHers I met in Chicago.

So, I have asked an all-star lineup of blogging friends to keep things interesting here at PunditMom while we’re away. Please give a warm welcome to:

Sonia Sunshine, Mrs. Chicky, Lawyer Mama, MojoMom, David at It’s Not a Lecture, Paige at The Avery Lane Experience and Redsy (the blogger formerly known as CrankMama — think she has one of those symbols for her name like Prince?)

I do have a little more BlogHer punditry to do tomorrow morning before I lock the suitcases, but I wanted to make sure all my guest bloggers know how much I appreciate that they’re willing to take up their own blogging time to keep things hopping here!