Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
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KOSBOUND
July 13, 2006 10:55 AM
So we finished up our Friars shooting yesterday with a great interview with standup comedian Jeffrey Ross, a member of both the New York and Los Angeles Friars Clubs, who provided some hilarious and emotional understanding of what these clubs mean to comedy and to comedians personally. I've long been a fan of Ross's rather racy Bea Arthur-themed speeches at the various Friars roasts, so it was cool to meet him and more importantly, he really provided some great perspective on the NY v LA feud.
We awoke early this am and ran for a Southwest Airlines shuttle to Oakland (ah, the glam life of a TV correspondent) where we'll head to the home of Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, aka Daily Kos, as you no doubt know a very prominent liberal blogger whose website draws more readers than most major metropolitan newspapers.
Kos just headlined a political convention in Vegas -- Yearly Kos -- where various Democratic pols from Harry Reid to Wesley Clark to Bill Richardson to Mark Warner visited to pay homage to the bloggerworld. Kos has also become something of a controversial figure, not surprisingly. (His new book coauthored with blogger and internet consultant Jerome Armstrong, "Crashing the Gate," alludes to this criticism with a Gandhi quote: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.")
Reporting on a blogger like Kos is essential for anyone who purports to cover politics in the US. But it's also a lose-lose proposition on another level, since whatever we report will subject us to withering and ugly criticism, either for being too tough or too soft or even both. Of course that comes with the territory no matter what we report on, but reporting on a blogger all the more so.
So.
Into the belly of the Berkeley beast we go....
More later
JT
July 13, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (4)
Guilty as charged, crazyvirgo.
Posted by: chuck | Jul 14, 2006 1:41:22 PM
wow, somebody's got a #1 fan.....
Posted by: crazyvirgo | Jul 14, 2006 12:56:08 PM
You mention a very important and sensitive subject in the closing lines of today's posting that, quite frankly, never ceases to amaze me here in your corner of the web. I've seen many of your reports for WNT, Nightline, GMA, and other ABC News programs, as well as have faithfully followed your daily blog and numerous reports for ABC News.com. From what I've seen, your reports always strive to present a reasoned report of a particular issue, occurrence, or person without trying to convey any preconceived notion or opinion on your part. (I hesitate to use the words "fair and balanced" in describing your reporting, since they've become a mockery from overuse at one news organization which touts itself as both but is neither.) In my opinion, you report issues thoroughly and authoritatively, sometimes with humor and irreverence when the subject appears too self-important or self-satisfied.
Yet, I'm always astounded that you receive such scathing attacks, seemingly from all sides, for perceived errors or biases in your reporting, as you indicated you'll probably receive for your report on DailyKos. To the best of my abilities, I don't perceive any leftist or rightist ideology behind your reporting, while others (perhaps more enlightened than I) do. It seems that, indeed, all you can do is your best and weather the unjustified criticism.
As for Daily Kos, I agree wholeheartedly with Reyonthehill in his assessment. The site unfortunately loses points in credibility in discussing issues requiring an impartial view when the site itself is so markedly partisan. It's usually an interesting, though predictable, read, and I can see why so many Democrats wish to pay hommage to it. I have to wonder, though, exactly how much lasting influence it has, especially in light of the strong online support of Howard Dean's presidential candidacy in 2004 which evaporated like morning mist in sunlight in the Iowa caucuses.
Posted by: chuck | Jul 13, 2006 2:25:15 PM
Hey, Jake. I am at work right now in downtown Oakland (it is much nicer than it sounds). Please stop by and say hello.
As a liberal blogger, I have stopped in and cross-published a handful of times at the site, but I mainly stay away from the cult-like parade of lunatics that make up the DailyKos community. When a blog (or a community blog, in particular) becomes so party-based, it loses credibility in discussing issues that may require an unbiased viewpoint. And, for the most part, Markos and DailyKos (and others) do not provide that viewpoint. (They provide the antidote to Townhall Forums and the equivalent party-fed talking points.)
The site, in my humble opinion, needs to become less party-centric to maintain or increase its long-term impact potential (or it needs to change its name to DailyKosPAC and file with the FEC accordingly). The calls, or "demands" as I refer to them, by Markos for readers to donate money to random liberal candidates is pathetic, frustrating and insulting (quite a combination).
(I have blogged for 3 years now at reyonthehill.com.)
And, remember to stop by and say hello. I am the liberal eating the burrito.
Posted by: reyonthehill | Jul 13, 2006 1:37:17 PM
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