Congress Joins Tweet-Mania

Since a ban on social networking was lifted, lawmakers have been using Twitter to give the public unprecedented access to congressional meetings—and perhaps fight boredom during them. At least four Republican reps, among the 65 who Twitter regularly, sent one-liners during a meeting with President Obama on the stimulus plan, Time reports. "Legislating is always an imperfect process," reads a particularly reflective one.

"Just landed in Baghdad," Rep. Pete Hoekstra tweeted over the weekend. His play-by-play tweets of a trip to Iraq with John Boehner roused critics, but provided journalists with scoops spokespeople may have otherwise inhibited. "The best Twitterers are the ones who don't use it as yet another venue for tired talking points but give us a first-person look behind the scenes," says a reporter.
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