WHEN ARCHIVES ATTACK

W

hen I read the news last week, that presidential hopeful John Edwards had hired a couple of nutroots bloggers onto his campaign staff, I thought it was a great idea. After all, that same genre of proggie bloggers had done such a fantastic job for Ned Lamont, hounding the honourable Joe Lieberman right out of the party and all -- "What could possibly go wrong?" I thought. Especially given Edwards' choice of blog-cred, in the form of Amanda from Pandagon and Melissa of Shakespeare's Sister.

It's one thing to be unhinged in the blogosphere, but on a major national campaign it's bound to be priceless. Something to really look forward to.

But alas, the entertainment might be short-lived. Somebody seems to have clued in the ex-Senator as to whom he'd hired as his new blogmaster... er, blogmistress (...blogatrix?). The controversy has hit the media biggies (CNN, NYT) and won't go back in the bottle now.

It boils down to either one of two things: How could the candidate have such poor judgement as to associate two such extremists with his campaign, without even a cursory check of their writings? Or: How could the candidate (...etc.), even after knowing their vulgar schtick? I mean, one doesn't have to look much farther than the headlines of their articles (which I see every day on Memeorandum), when the headlines themselves are usually full of obscenity and bile? How much obscenity can be crammed into 7 or 8 words? You'd be surprised.

Either that's what he wanted, or it isn't.

So whether this youngish, handsome, Breck-haired, Pepsodent-smile Southern white Christian gentleman is having second thoughts or first ones about having Christian-hating, penile-American-hating, radical feminist bigots on his staff, the rumour is that they're about to be canned. Which, if it happens, is sure to rile up the nutroots bloggers' collective, and they'll turn on him like a pack of cornered hyenas. Keep them or can them, there's just no way out of this gracefully for poor John.

Well, this is just my way of hooking you all to view one of the best Vents ever -- Masterpiece Hot Air Theater presents…Amanda Marcotte, performed by the endlessly talented Michelle Malkin. And a tastefully understated performance it was, if you're familiar with the subject. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly you'll do both at the same time! (Today's sequel isn't quite so moving, but most sequels are like that.)

Intrepid investigator "iowahawk", that dumpster-diving demon, has apparently cultivated an 'ellesburg' inside the Pandagon -- today releasing classified emails between the principals of this scandal. We can always count on "iowahawk" to come up with the real juice behind the headlines, whether it's secure communications from the late Zarkman, or Kofi Annan's first drafts. Will The Pandagon Papers shake the halls of power? Strong content warning is hereby advised in any case.
- posted by Agam @ 8:06 PM 0 comments

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