From Reliable Sources:
LOCKHART: I think that there's a huge audience out there, Howie, that a network of people outside of Washington that are having conversations, that don't feel like they're a part of the conversation in Washington.
And so we're providing a platform for people to engage in a conversation that they're already having out there. We're not trying to replace anything that's happening right now. We're just trying to add that dialogue to the dialogue that's going on in Washington.
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LOCKHART: Our jobs over time have been to monitor and try and understand the public mood and the public market, and the public wants a different dialogue. And so we're going to try and provide that.
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LOCKHART: Yes. Bloggers will have an important role to play. We're not challenging them. There's people who have very well formed opinions, and they like to argue, and they like to express that. There are people who, you know, are making up their mind, and they want to talk about it. And it's not necessarily the right forum.
But it's also the subjects we pick to discuss. We're very narrow here in Washington in, sort of, the blogging elite and the media elite.
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LOCKHART: Yes, people inside the Beltway. People outside the Beltway have a whole different areas of concern. There are issues they want to discuss. And, you know, I think, first and foremost, they want to discuss those things. Secondly, I think they want to be heard. And I think if this is done right, they'll be able to do both of those things.
KURTZ: But if you put your opinions on the side, and you have some essay on the side, and then people responded. There's commenting back and forth and interactivity and all of that. How do you prevent Hot Soup from getting hotter than you want? In other words, people out there who do have passionate feelings...
MCKINNON: We hope it's hot. We want it to be interesting. By the way, it's going to be about a lot more than politics. It's going to be about culture and religion and entertainment.
So it's going to be a very broad-based discussion. But we're going to have some rules, and we're going to have some moderation so that it's...
KURTZ: Rules that say that there are certain things you can't do.
MCKINNON: If you start swearing at people, you're out.
KURTZ: Because that would never happen in the backroom of a political consulting firm, right?
LOCKHART: But I think the bottom line here is it's not going to be about what Mark and I decide. It's going to be about what the community decides. If you look at the social networking sites right now -- even look at some place like eBay -- the community decides what gets discussed, what gets bought, what gets put forward, what the rules are.
OWWWWWWWW! IT BURNS ME.