June 14, 2005

6/14: When The MSM Met The DSM

The Hotline's Blogometer takes the daily temperature of the blogosphere. For more information on the thinking behind this feature, go to the end of the story.

For the 1st time in months, a large number of bloggers address the Michael Jackson trial. Memeorandum provides a round-up here. The Blogometer avoids this subject matter, but we can't help noting Max Sawicky's attempt to write a headline in Varietyspeak: "JACKO CUT SLACKO GOES BACKO TO SHACKO WITH FLACKOS FOR SNACKO; HACKOS LACKO BLACKO ON WHOM TO CRACKO LEFT TO QUACKO."

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, the Downing Street Memo -- "DSM" in blogosphere parlance -- blows up, ex-Rep. Vin Weber (R) is rumored for MN SEN, and we bring you our latest blogger interview.

TRACKBACKS: It's As Easy As TCS, FEC Baby, You And Me

Where the blog swarm is headed, who's taking part, and what they're saying:

• There's no middle ground on a report from David Sanger in the New York Times, which states that Pres. Bush and British P.M. Tony Blair had not yet agreed to invade Iraq the time the DSM indicated they had. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times' Mike Kinsley earlier knocked down the DSM in a column. As the Blogometer noted recently, the DSM has found some audience in the blogosphere, albeit not as large as some liberal bloggers would like. Conservatives had addressed it briefly or not at all. Today, thanks to the still-powerful MSM, everybody has something to add.
  
  

  >> Liberal Think Progress titles their post "New York Times Tries To Kill Downing Street Story." Speaking for many in the left blogosphere, Pacific Views challenges the "allegedly liberal Times": "Now, look me in the eye and tell me that this memo isn't referring to a done deal. Look me in the eye and tell me that by "no political decision," this memo didn't actually mean 'no public announcement.' There isn't any question of whether or not the US will actually go to war, just when. The only uncommitted party at the juncture of this memo sounds to the UK, and only for political reasons. ... Tony 'Chamberlain' Blair might have been undecided at this point, but a full reading of this document gives the impression that the only decision the Bush administration had yet to make was when to give the go ahead."
  

  >> But fellow anti-war liberal Marc Cooper disagrees: "The memo is the hottest topic on the anti-war left since Newt Gingrich was discovered cheating on his wife. There's even a boomlet of voices now arguing that the memo paves the way for impeaching George W. Bush. I call this a prime example of 'If Only' politics. If Only the masses knew eveything I knew... If Only the media would stop covering this or that up... then for sure there would be some outburst of righteous anger and opposition." More: "[I]f you wanted to believe or understand that two-and-a-half years ago Bush and his cronies were cooking things to make war inevitable there was ample evidence to do so at the time. I certainly thought so back then. ... Indeed, isn't this how Democrats spent the last two years of the Clinton era -- repeating ad nauseum that all politicians lie?"
  

  >> Center-right journalist Andrew Sullivan, a hawk with criticisms of Bush's post-invasion effectiveness, agrees with Sanger and Kinsley: "All the memo shows is one individual's take on what was going on in Washington. ... It proves nothing but that senior figures in Downing Street believed that the war was inevitable, unsellable to the British public and that there was almost no post-war planning. I guess it is slightly amazing that any senior government official can get three things right. But I'm underwhelmed." Captain's Quarters calls it "The Emily Litella Memo," writing that the new report "completely undermines the central argument of the Downing Street Memo," and that "taken together, it becomes apparent that British intelligence could not make up its mind what Bush had in mind for Iraq; it prepared two different memos with mutually-exclusive analyses."
  

  >> More opinionations: Corrente; QandO; Informed Comment; Daly Thoughts; Newshog; Balloon Juice; The Corner; JustOneMinute; ScreedBlog; Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal; Power Pundit; Pandagon.



• At Tech Central Station, editor Nick Schulz interviews FEC commish Brad Smith on the subject of potential FEC regulation of blogs and other online outlets. Smith is sympathetic to bloggers' interests, but provides analysis that makes them uncomfortable.
  

  >> Right-leaning QandO: "QandO is, of course, a group blog. We criticize politicians directly. And we have a particular political point of view? So, does that make the three of us a "political committee"? Would we be banned from saying anything about a candidate, because our time is a "political contribution" to a campaign, even if there's not any coordination between us and any campaign? It was a great country we had here once. But every day, in so many ways, we're losing every one of the liberties the founders bequeathed to us. We are in the process of building the same system the Europeans have: A system where the limits to acceptable political debate are severely circumscribed, and political elites make every possible decision they can, while granting us an increasingly meaningless fiction of democracy."
  

  >> The sole prominent liberal blog to weigh in is heavyweight Daily Kos: "[I]t truly is ironic that we have Republican commissioners on the FEC talking about equity between the corporate media and citizen media on the Internet, while so-called 'Democrats' like [GWU prof Carol] Darr argue on behalf of corporate supremacy in the media sphere." Note: see 6/3 Blogometer for more on Darr.
  

  >> More (dispirited) reactions: Professor Bainbridge; Protein Wisdom; Brothers Judd; Instapundit; Dean's World; Winds of Change.

IN THE STATES: World Wide Weber

MN-based The First Ring hints that ex-Rep. Vin Weber (R-MN) may join the MN SEN fray: "You've heard it here first ladies and gents. That's what I've been hearing from longtime Republican Party activists since the defeat of Chairman Ron Eibensteiner this past weekend." As evidence, he notes that ex-Weber CoS Jack Meeks is available, having resigned recently from an RNC position representing MN," and that a Whois search for "weberforsenate" shows the URL reserved. The First Ring Notes: "Note that the registration was updated June 11, the same day as the Republican State Central meeting," where Eibensteiner was removed.

At Power Line, Scott Johnson reports on seeing a speech by comedian/possible future MN Dem SEN candidate Al Franken: "Franken struck some discordant notes. He leveled unpleasant personal attacks on Sen. Coleman, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity. (... I think these attacks betrayed a satirist's nastiness without a satirist's humor. ... Can Franken shed the excesses to which he's grown accustomed as a talk radio host and political activist? Can he impose on himself the self-discipline required of a candidate for high office? I think his evident intelligence would allow him to make the necessary adjustments and play to his strengths. "

VA resident Patrick Ruffini shares his choices for the VA GOP primary, including a vote for AG Jerry Kilgore for GOV. He writes: "My vote ultimately comes down to one thing, and one thing alone (okay, actually two): Who can complete a statewide sweep in 2005, and who can win the governorship in 2009?" Commonwealth Conservative celebrates the arrival of primary day and promises to be active "all day and night with the latest news." Also keeping track is "Not Larry Sabato."

In a post we should have noted yesterday, at RedState, GA consultant Erick Erickson considers GA LG candidate/GOP consultant Ralph Reed's prospects, given his Jack Abramoff-related ethical problems: "No diehard Republican in Georgia is cold on Ralph Reed. Some feel betrayed, some feel like Reed was never really an "Evangelical Conservative" and some feel like Reed led the party to bigger and better things and we should stick by him now. The question I have is what do people outside the party really feel about Reed. ... Reed has an advantage in that he already has name identification and has (at least if you buy the rumors) a large bucket of cash. Reed's biggest disadvantage right now is also his name identification, but that could be offset by cash."

WHITE HOUSE '08: It's Not McCain He Do It, But McWill He Try?

At Slate, Mickey Kaus and Duke law prof Walter Dellinger debate the likely success of a 3rd party candidacy and the fortunes of John McCain in such a scenario. Dellinger: "I agree with you that in a three way race it is quite possible that John McCain could finish first in both the popular vote and the electoral vote. But that isn't enough. McCain would need 270 electoral votes -- an absolute majority. Otherwise, given the shape of the House in 2008, all the Republican candidate needs in a three way race is to finish third." Kaus solicits reader suggestions

BUSH: You Make The Call!

A bold post at The Left Coaster, presented as a matter of fact: "Here's an easy prediction: As Bush's popularity wanes and nearly two-thirds of the public disapproves of the Republican-dominated Congress, in the last two years of the Bush Administration bonfires will start blazing in the offices of all the Neocons who face possible arrest and prosecution as war criminals. Nervous about trusting that the electorate will send to the White House another cover-up artist like Bush I, who pardoned Caspar Weinberger for his Iran-Contra perjury (and thereby let Colin Powell off the hook as well) they will do all they can to destroy -- not 'seal' but destroy -- evidence that could send them to prison. Although there is much in the public domain, already, that would justify indictment of many of the neocon warmongers, it's probably just the tip of the iceberg. How much more evidence remains to be uncovered may never be known -- not with most of our pusillanimous press asleep in the White House shrine."

BLOGGERS VS. BLOGGERS: The Kossack Divide

Chris Bowers argues at MyDD argues that the greater interactivity of liberal blogs has resulted in their dramatic growth, whereas the "top-down" style of conservative blogs is depressing readership: "While it would appear that there are hordes of Glenn Reynolds wannabes among conservatives in the netroots, Redstate.org sticks out as the only success story for a community oriented blog within the conservative blogosphere. In fact, of the five most trafficked conservative blogs (over 200,000 page views per week), only one, Little Green Footballs, even allows comments, much less the ability to actually write a diary or a new article..."

Steve Gilliard, in his foul-mouthed way, defends Moulitsas from recent feminist criticism (see 6/10 Blogometer). Writes Gilliard: "Daily Kos is a business, and it needs money to operate the way it does. It's easy for other people to debate your actions when they don't have your bills." His comments are directed at a 6/6 post by Shakespeare's Sister, related to the "pie fight ad" mentioned in a now-infamous post at Daily Kos. Loaded Mouth observes: "Hm. That's funny. If profits are the main concern here for Kos, how come he's rejected an advertisment on principles alone before?"

BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: Y Marks The Spot

Today the blogometer talks tolefty Matthew Yglesias, who recently started writing a blog for TPM Cafe, contributes to The American Prospect's TAPPED, and maintains a popular personal blog.

What is your full name?

Matthew Yglesias

What is your age?

Turned 24 on May 18, 2005

Where did you grow up?

New York City

Where do you live now?

Washington, DC

What is your occupation? Have you ever worked on a political campaign or for the mainstream media?

I'm a staff writer at The American Prospect. Hard to say if that counts as the "mainstream media."

When did you start blogging and why?

Back in January 2002 when I was in college my then-girlfriend went on a semester abroad so I was bored and looking for a new hobby.

What has been your favorite post, or favorite story to write about, in that time?

No favorite post, but I've been loving the Social Security debate in general.

Describe your typical blogging schedule. And what is your average output?

I don't have a particular schedule, my job just requires me to read a lot of stuff and talk to a lot of people -- I write up my thoughts as they come to me in the course of doing that.

Who is your favorite political blogger? Favorite non-political blogger?

Obviously, I'm the best political blogger on the planet, but I also like Brad Plumer. Unfogged, a non-political site, is probably the best blog out there.

Who is your favorite mainstream media columnist?

Paul Krugman

What is your favorite television news program, either network or cable?

TV news is pretty intolerable. Does the "Daily Show" count? Tim Russert's non-"Meet The Press" show on CNBC is okay, too.

What MSM-produced websites (i.e. newspapers, magazines) do you visit on a daily basis?

Oh boy, quite a lot: New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau, and a bunch of political magazines -- National Review, Weekly Standard, The Nation, The New Republic, Slate, Mother Jones.

What non-MSM websites (i.e. blogs) do you visit on a daily basis?

Josh Marshall, Brad DeLong, Brad Plumer, Ezra Klein, Mark Schmitt, Julie Saltman, Democracy Arsenal, Crooked Timber, Unfogged, Marginal Revolution, Kevin Drum, Justin Logan, Jim Henley, Max Sawicky, Steve Clemons, Ed Kilgore are all more-or-less daily reads. Plus a bunch more on a slightly more irregular basis.

How often, or do you ever, read a newspaper in its dead-tree (i.e. print) form?

Now and again if the weather's good I'll sit outside and read a paper on the weekend, or when I'm traveling maybe.

How do you see the new media and old media affecting and influencing each other in the next five years?

I think the emergence of blogs is calling into question the utility of one specific form of mainstream journalism -- short-form commentary as you see on an op-ed page, a one-page column in a magazine, or a certain amount of front-of-the-book content in magazines. As far as news reporting goes, I think the current dynamic will continue. Bloggers will depend on working reporters to have anything to blog about. At the same time, reporters will be torn between annoyance at all the mean things bloggers say about them, and a certain sense of flattery to know that there really are people out there reading their stuff and caring -- passionately -- about what they say.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Happy Blogiversary To You

The blogiversary is your blog's birthday. Karol Sheinen's Alarming News turned 3 years old on 6/13; Michelle Malkin's blog turned 1 year old. The blogiversary is a time that turns typically hard-nosed bloggers a bit mushy as they recall their humble origins, and credit the blogger who inspired them. Malkin shares: "Two figures have had an undeniable impact on this blog, as they have had on the blogosphere as a whole: Matt Drudge and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds. Though he disdains the term "blog," Drudge was and is the O.B.: the original blogger. ... Reynolds' blog was one of the first I started reading, and remains one of the first I read every morning. Whether you agree with his politics or not, he sets blogospheric gold standards for ethics, etiquette, quality, and output."

LEST WE FORGET: He'll Even Throw In A "Star Jones Is Thin" T-Shirt

Triumph the Comic Insult Dog mingles with Jacko fans outside the courthouse.

Posted by at June 14, 2005 12:00 PM