A word from Michael Barone

Last night in “I’m just asking,” Deacon and Rocket Man commented on Michael Barone’s terriffic column for the new issue of US News: “Blogosphere politics.” This morning Mr. Barone writies:

Thanks for your kind mention of my column. Of course I should have mentioned the Swift Boat Vets too–and also Eason Jordan’s ouster, which occurred I gather at around 6pm Friday, which is to say just a few hours after my piece was set in stone by USNews.
But, as you note, I’m limited to about 730 words, and I wanted to make my points about the left blogosphere, and was writing for an audience that I could not assume was familiar with either side of the blogosphere.
I’m going to have more on this in the Introduction to my Almanac of American Politics 2006. I think the discrediting of Old Media and the rise of New Media was one of the signficant, and enduring, things that happened in the 2004 election cycle.
As you point out, the right blogosphere may not prove to be an asset for the Republicans in the future. But I do think you’re right that the right blogosphere is more tolerant of differing opinions than its left counterpart. The right blogosphere was happy to treat Andrew Sullivan as an ally and to treat respectfully his advocacy of same-sex marriage even though most people in the right blogosphere disagreed. I do admit that the treatment of Andrew got rougher when he made it clear he was for Kerry rather than Bush. But even then he got nothing like the vitriol someone on the left would have gotten from Kos if he had supported Bush.

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