MarKOS Has Jumped The Shark By: Mark W Adams

So much for in-depth analysis from the center of the progressive blogosphere. Frankly I'd expect better insight from Ann Coulter than this tripe. I think we should start up a donation page to buy MarKOS a clue.

'No freakin' Clue':

In some ways, I dig our field -- all our top-tier candidates can beat the best the other side throws at us. They are raising more money, getting more buzz, drawing bigger crowds, and are on the right side of most issues. Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Richardson have the possibility of being good presidents. And I'll have no problem getting behind any of them when the final results come in.

That's a reason why I have no urgency to pick a horse in this race. We'll be generally okay with any of these guys.

The first red flag simply has to be the complacency MarKOS displays in brushing aside the GOP machine when it come to what will happen a year and a half from now. (That's 3 Friedman Units for those of you keeping score.) You cannot misunderestimate the attraction of the "You're Fucking Kidding Me" candidate the Republicans will foist on this weary nation -- especially when you run a site dedicated to electing liberal Democrats to Washington DC.


But that's not enough for our KOSsack Field Marshall. He then goes on to list the low-points of each of our top tier presidential candidates, essentially saying that while he had no problem with any of them becoming the nominee, he's not especially thrilled with the choices he's been given.

• Clinton -- a bamboozler on the war, Bush-like in her stubbornness to recant her AUMF vote, and will hurt down-ticket races for reasons I can't figure out and MarKOS fails to even try to explain.
  
  
• Edwards -- OMG! MarKOS can't get past the F-ing haircut story. Yes, this is "serious" stuff folks. Don't brush it off because there's a sinister meaning there somewhere and it gives MarKOS an icky feeling, rising to the level of a "disaster." (Jeebus, MarKOS must have contemplated hari kari after the Dean Scream.)
  
  
• Obama -- Oh my, two years into his first-term, the junior Senator from Illinois hasn't figured out how to make the upper chamber of Congress dance to his bidding. Where Edwards was painted as "stupid" for a billing mix-up on his grooming expenses, Obama is cowardly for a voting record that's safe, not stupid.
  
  
• Richardson -- MarKOS didn't like Bill's appearance on Meet The Press, and informed us that you cannot be both a Red Socks fan and a Yankee fan. You're right MarKOS, That's the whole ball-game for the candidate whose experience alone would put him in the White House if the system were geared to promoting the most qualified person for the job, instead of the most popular. YEEHAARRRRRGGGGG!!!!

*Note to future historians.

• Hillary Clinton did not start the war in Iraq, no democrat did.
  
  
• Howard Dean did not lose the nomination because he screamed after the votes were counted in Iowa. He lost because the vote count showed he came in third to Kerry and Edwards, respectively, despite the prognostication and best efforts of blogtopians like MarKOS. Likewise, Edwards will lose Iowa only if he runs a similarly amateurish ground campaign there (he's not). After winning Iowa, Edwards can go to the next contests perceived as a winner -- not a loon, unless he shaves himself bald.
  
  
• Barack Obama ain't stupid, and MarKOS is far too young to remember what real democratic leaders sounded like. Jack Kennedy didn't win the hearts and minds of a generation by transforming the Senate. No sooner did Bobby Kennedy take the New York Senate seat now occupied by Hillary Clinton, there was a buzz about him running for president. But he didn't even enter the '68 contest until after the New Hampshire primary. Bobby did not win the California primary on the eve of his assassination because of his voting record in the Senate, but because he was a champion of civil rights, the working poor, and because he had that same intangible quality Obama taps into that makes him inspirational and immensely popular.
  
  
• Bill Richardson ain't stupid either, and would make MarKOS look like the pimply-face neophyte he is if they ever sat down together before a camera crew. Another thing to note about Richardson is that unlike the would-be kingmaker of blogtopia, Bill doesn't believe his own press clippings and has a much more grounded sense of who he is and the limits of his influence.
  

MarKOS caused a shit-storm with his vapid analysis, and maybe that was his intent. MarKOS ain't stupid either. He stirred the pot with this and brought out every partisan to do battle in the comments and diaries. Maybe this was intended to get all of the rancor out of our system so we can unite after the dust settles.

Or not. After all, the Daily KOS is as much an entertainment -- and a source of income for MarKOS based mainly on the unpaid writings of others, with all the bells and buzzers you can only get there. And that is the attraction of D-KOS. MarKOS make it so slick as to be irresistible, an interface to die for and a diverse community that puts recognized scholars and famous politicians on the same field as average folks with enough time to play at blogging instead of Nintendo.

Maybe MarKOS is just a bit too impressed with his own self-importance, and not sophisticated enough to do the heavy lifting necessary to pick a horse and ride it. It's easy to pick apart a pundit or politician, instead of trying to lead on issues yourself. Some would call keeping your options open at this point the safe bet, as long as you aren't supposed to be a "leader."

And that's probably what irks me the most. Obama is criticized for failing to lead, when MarKOS can incite thousands to a cause with a stroke of a key. Hillary can't catch a break despite being everything MarKOS is not, an accomplished and respected leader of a real political organization, not a virtual one. Richardson is dis'd on style points alone instead of getting even an acknowledgment of his diverse qualifications and record as a true problem-solver, when MarKOS (as far as I know) never even attended a school board meeting let alone wrangled with the problems associated with a real job as an elected official.

And what can I say about MarKOS's take on John Edwards. Really dude? The Haircut? That's all you got? How 'bout along with that clue we're buying for the King of the Great Orange Blog, we throw in a subscription to GQ. That kid could benefit from some proper grooming himself if he ever wants to do something besides sitting in front of a computer screen in his underwear eating cheetos.