And so it begins. There's a particularly relevant bit from Politico's early-mover story on how Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is laying the groundwork for helping out his fellow Republicans, keeping his political options open, and, possibly, prepping for the 2012 presidential election that will take place just 1,132 days from today: Pawlenty has brought in digital political veterans Mindy Finn, Patrick Ruffini, and Liz Mair to develop what, writes Jonathan Martin, "Pawlenty advisers hope will be the most sophisticated new-media presence of any Republican in the nation." First up, a new website for his Freedom First PAC, and with it, an interactive dash: a display of what folks tell Pawlenty that "freedom means" to them.

We're still days into 2009, and now is the time to prepare for the epic interplay between tech and politics in the 2012 presidential cycle.

No, I am still not tired of Huckwatching (during the primaries, I made Mike Huckabee's website my personal beat). I am increasingly convinced he's running for President in 2012 if Obama is in office. For those of you not on Huckabee's email list, he's been apoplectic about the proposed bailout.