The Politico has outdone themselves in the category of ostentatious self-congratulation. Just by way of mockery, some names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Each morning in Philadelphia, PA, around dawn, three men wake up and concoct their versions of conventional wisdom for an audience of Beltway political professionals and junkies around the country.
They are Duncan Black, the author of Eschaton’s pioneering tipsheet; Open Left political editor Chris Bowers; and Martin Longman, who writes for this publication. As in many heated competitions (see also, presidential primaries) each of the three denies he sees the others as rivals.
“We’re all longtime friends and mutual admirers, and have joked about getting together to eat breakfast as we type away,” Longman said in an e-mail.
But to their overlapping sets of readers and to other political journalists, they are struggling for the dominance in shaping conventional political wisdom for this presidential cycle — a title held by Eschaton in the run-up to the 2004 election.
Their obstacles are both one another and a changed, crowded landscape in which the notion of uncontested, unified conventional wisdom filtering from the capital to the provinces may be a thing of the past.
“Longman, Bowers, Black — it is like choosing between Harvard, Yale and Princeton. You really can’t go wrong, but there nonetheless is an intense competition,” said Chris Lehane, a political consultant who was Al Gore’s campaign press secretary.
How much more self-important can they get? Rick Klein, Chuck Todd, and Mike Allen have waning influence precisely because political junkies no longer give a damn what they think. They go to blogs. Insofar as the Beltway is still reading The Note they’re walking around with their heads up their asses.
Just a continuation of the assault on all things blogospheric. The left political blogosphere has the underwear of all the neocon’s, Republican’s and Republican’s apologists all bunched up in the cracks of their respective asses, and they are scared shitless that something which they cannot control is going to continue to gain respectability and be given heed by the masses.
It’s fear, plain and simple. The attempt to marginalize anything to do with the liberal side of the blogosphere will continue, unabated, for the foreseeable future.
They are running scared and depending on the ignorance of the public and the mainstream media to help them carry the day.
the left political blogosphere has the underwear of all the neocon’s, republican’s and republican’s apologists all bunched up in the cracks of their respective asses, and they are scared shitless that something which they cannot control is going to continue to gain respectability and be given heed by the masses.
what are we doing with their underwear?
You know, skippy, you might have a point.
I think a little re-read on my part prior to hitting “Post” might have been in order.
That’s what happens, I guess, when you try and post on the fly at work.
Unintended consequences. BTW, I didn’t touch anyones underwear. most certainly not a Republicans.
it’s a perfectly constructed sentence, i was just in a hurry as i read it.
Even Satchmo knows how to tell the best sticks from the old river sodden ones. He just spits them out. But every day it’s still work to find the best ones, no one gives him a handful in a morning talking points email. We like going beyond the predictable, the search is the best part.
Intense competition? Really. How about intense curiosity where links back and forth to each other are 2nd only to the adrenaline rush of the debate? I think I’d be more worried if these guys DID get it.
Is Satchmo your newf?
Yup, all 175# of him, getting his good morning slopper ear scrath as I type.
That’s a big boy. Boo maxed out at about 140 lbs, and was down to 119 when he died. But, then, I picked the runt of the litter on purpose because I wanted to limit hip, heart, and diabetes risks.
Yeah, and he was also the runt but like yours, the personality of a giant!
no mention of the earth-shattering influence of the noz?!?!?!
i mean, who’s even heard of this black fellow? if you’re gonna do a self-congratulatory wank, at least do the wanking right.
How come the Politico never mentions the unhinged, foul-mouthed, and mean-spirited scribblings at brendancalling?
I’m gonna kick Rick Klein’s ass. That motherfucker owes me after I paid for those Upper Darby whores he likes so much.
I can’t wait for BrendanCalling to = common wisdom.
Guy named Simon was on C-SPAN this morning. S’ok: How ’bout a weekly video of “Drinking Liberally”?
how utterly absurd… the only competition those guys are in is who’s going to win the pool on when bushco comes crashing down… among the many things the weenies at the politico are incapable of grasping is the concept of win/win… in their stunted view of the universe, win/lose is still the dominant paradigm… SOMEBODY’S GOTTA COME OUT ON TOP, which means, naturally enough, that somebody else HAS to lose… it’s the same kind of antediluvian thinking that has brought our planet to its current sorry state…
thank god that c-span finally decided to give politico its due. THE WHOLE SHOW THIS AM!!!!!
tHATS RIGHT- THE WHOLE GODDAMNED SHOW.
And for those that care- msnbc at 12:25 pm today- the latest bim girl pointed out to all the following: good old Gordy -who defeated tony in the last UK election. Yhank god she cleared that up!
So, if anyone thinks for one second that we haven’t fallen down the rabbit whole- I can’t help you.
That Longman guy is a joke.
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“… some names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."It’s only snark. 😉
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capisco … mine was just for laughs.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."