Not long after the friendly smackdown between Boxer and Inhofe a grassroots campaign began urging Rice to run. Now redirected to his official site, a cache of RunAndrewRun.com tells us that he is

"the right blend of real-world experience and leadership Oklahoma needs to move forward in the 21st Century."

Rice does have some hardcore real world experience. His brother David was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and it was at that point, according to Rice's campaign site, that he

"re-dedicated his life to social justice work and common-sense public policy. He has been involved since 2002 with other families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks to oppose the War in Iraq and attempt to refocus America's leaders on the terrorist network that attacked us.

As if his foreign policy interests aren't enough Rice also has his degree in Religious Studies, which took him to work in Sri Lanka and Thailand on rural development projects in impoverished villages. Seriously, this guy has a lot going for him that is important to Oklahoma. Rural development - Progressive values that stem from his faith -And a non-manufactured reason for security?

Other than Rice's unique story of faith and tragedy shaping his passion for justice and fair representation, his hometown grassroots style is evident in a website that is brining Web 2.0 to the Heartland. Clean and clear design, participatory (while being traditionally informative) - well, it's only the beginning. Rice offers in a prominent position a button to encourage bloggers to sign up with the campaign as a specific network of netroots volunteers.

He is one of very few people and perhaps the only in my area of the country, that takes bloggers seriously, connects them to the campaign rather than leaving them floundering, and utilizes the talent and ability of a number of people nationwide who I've spoken of before - who can really be an asset to our movement (not just in campaigns but in policy as well).

I am eager to see other candidates (not just the young, modern, energetic ones) begin to explore this exciting new world of the internets (its a series of tubes!!) and the google that we've clearly shown we are good at and can make a difference.

Keep and eye on Rice - I have a feeling this is a new Candidate 2.0 and seeing how that contrasts with an old school, old style, establishment, dinosaur campaign will be interesting - but it might also help us learn a strategy for building winning campaigns for young candidates in the future.