Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company

Instead of exploring the "he said/she said" aspect of this, I want to look into why people might feel the way they do about this much-talked-about scenario.

First, let's take the perspective of someone working in the Obama campaign who is confronted with a request for $40,000.  How much is a campaign worker paid (if that worker is not a volunteer)?  How does an annual salary of $60,000 sound?  At least, that's that the average political campaign worker's annual salary after 10-15 years, according to the Princeton Review.  Imagine that someone is asking for almost as much money as you make in a year for a few months of part-time work that your teenage son could have done.  How does that make you feel?  Wouldn't you feel like you're being extorted?

Now, let's take the perspective of some parts of the blogosphere.  Let's face it, some people have dreams of fame and fortune by becoming a political blogger.  There's a ton of Daily Kos drama caused by people angling for front pager gigs.  The Obama campaign saying they refuse to pay x dollars sets a cap on how much one could possibly hope to make from blogging and citizen net activities that don't require a degree in computer science.  This crushed some dreams, and people have responded angrily.  Wouldn't you lash out if you felt that someone was threatening your valuation of your self-worth?