Bob McCarty Writes

After tracking news coverage of a much-publicized hearing on Capitol Hill today, I felt obligated to set the record straight and let it be known that I do not and have never used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs while blogging.

Unlike Roger “The Rocket” Clemens of Major League Baseball fame, I haven’t been called to testify before Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform he chairs.  Apparently, members of Congress are not concerned about the bulk I’ve added to my frame during the 14 months since I became a full-time blogger. Nevertheless, I felt it important for me and all serious bloggers — including those whose blogs appear on my blogroll — to “come clean” on the matter.

Why? Because blogs will soon replace television newscasts and print newspapers in the media mix, bloggers aiming to replace them must be proactive in cultivating the public trust. Those who do not follow my lead will surely see their blogs relegated to virtual magazine racks positioned adjacent online checkout lines, ignored by the vast majority of those passing through cyberspace.

In closing, I want to invite bloggers everywhere — including those on my blogroll — who can honestly say they do not and have never used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs while blogging to join me in sharing that news with the world.