GOP Struggles (and Twitters) to Close Tech Gap

With the Republican National Committee voting for a new chairman today, the candidates have been busy competing not on ideological grounds but on who has more Facebook friends, and who's more adept at Twittering, the Wall Street Journal reports. In rebuilding the party, one strategist declared the top priority to be closing the technology gap that helped put Barack Obama in the White House—"winning the technology war with the Democrats."

With that in mind, incumbent Mike Duncan recently reassured a conservative talk show host that while he doesn't Twitter, he does own two BlackBerries and a Kindle. Handicapping the contenders, the Washington Post says Duncan is expected to pick up plenty of first-round votes but ebb in later rounds. Challenger Michael Steele aims to emerge a strong second in the first round, but Katon Dawson has been gaining momentum. Saul Anuzis and Ken Blackwell are longer shots, but could capitalize on Steele and Dawson's unpalatability to various segments of the GOP.