the buzz log

As the third night of the Democratic National Convention drew to a close, several questions bombarded the Search box: How was Bill Clinton's speech? What does "cronyism" mean? And who is Beau Biden?

Joe Biden's son Beau introduced his father last night and made his first appearance in the national consciousness. In an address warmly received by convention attendees, the Delaware attorney general spoke of the deaths of his mother and sister in a car accident in 1972. He praised his dad and expressed love for his stepmother, Jill Biden. And he called on Democrats to "be there" for his father in the upcoming months when "it won't be possible" for him to be there himself.

Won't be possible? Here's what the 39-year-old left unsaid: Beau Biden is a captain in the Army National Guard, and in early October his unit deploys for Iraq. Why he kept silent on this, we can't say, but it certainly sparked the attention of watchers (and maybe that's the answer). Lookups for "beau biden" surged almost immediately, as did queries for the misspelled "bo biden," perhaps helped along by one network's typo.

By the next morning, blogs like The Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers had reprinted parts of Beau's speech, and The Washington Post mused about the young man's political future. The New Jersey Politicker declared, "Biden's son brings tears to the New Jersey delegation," and the New York Daily News reported that Michelle Obama looked a little weepy herself.

Beau wasn't the only Biden to draw notice yesterday. After Obama called out to "Mama Biden," queries for "joe biden's mother" leapt upwards, and Joe Biden's references to his mom inspired at least one blogger to label it the "aw shucks" moment of the night. Finally, as we've mentioned before, Jill Biden is turning out to be a real Internet star, inspiring searches and slide shows across the Web.

Whether the Delaware senator's addition to the Obama ticket helps or hurts in the long run remains to be seen. But for now, the Biden family is certainly helping to stir up buzz.