Agreed! Thanks Shaun for adding something constructive to the front page.

Hah--enforcer would be about the last word that would apply to me. I am a highly conciliatory presence on this site and in the internet in general, as opposed to say, you.  I don't hate Jerome. I respect that he can stand up for what he believes and also engage in the criticism that is leveled at him. I think he has misplaced faith in the Tea Party as an expression of democratic (little d, not party) energy. I think he allowed his bias towards Hillary to weaken his stature and ability to lead in the netroots community in 08, but I don't doubt the sincerity of his opinions.

I do wonder why he is allowing this site to become such a swamp of pointless negativity and would like to hear his thoughts on it. The writings here are a savage as anything on Redstate and that is what I am objecting to.

Sorry for the formality and the politeness. I have been trying for some time to understand your POV on being a Democrat. It is mystifying to me that you could invest so much time trashing the leader of your party on a site formerly known for supporting Democratic candidates. I obviously get the snark factor but something else (self loathing?) is going on here. Feel free to edify me if you can be bothered.

And I say crap I am talking about the front page diary of Mr Landsman and practically everything he has written. I can only assume Jerome is attempting to drive away whatever vestige of his previous readership is left with the "writings" of this poster.

What has happened to this site? Say what you will about the Clinton/Obama flamewars of 08, this place was a bastion of sane discussion compared to most of the rest of the blogosphere.

As to this election, it could have been so much worse. The Tea Party saved the Dems from losing the Senate by nominating unelectable candidates in Angle, O'Donnel, and Buck. All of those seats could have and probably would have gone GOP without Tea Party influence. I find some validation here in the notion that the Tea Party is a fringe movement and not a earth shifter the way some have posited.

Meanwhile, what do the American people want? And can they have a little patience? I don't think that the job creation they are looking for is going to spring forth from the House under Boehner. Interesting days indeed, but as I woke up this morning I had the sense that we dodged an even bigger bullet this year.

My thought about this is that if Raese is supposed to be more in touch with regular folks, this news will make him look hypocritical and way out of touch. I know you think that this will only resonate in media circles but I bet that most of the blue collar WV vote would not appreciate the description of them in that casting call. So if that becomes widely discussed among the voting public I think it will have a negative effect on the Republican candidate.

In re the agenda coming out of Washington, I am wondering what the folks in WV would be feeling if there had been nothing done this legislative cycle, no stimulus and no health care bill. Hard as it is to cut through the media meme that health care bill is an albatross I still feel confident that most of America will come to see it as an improvement over previous status quo. Its the kind of thing that will have to be weighed over a few years and won't help us in 2010 but in the end as each person weighs whether they are better off than they were I think the HC bill will be seen as a net positive by 2012.

Its true that I am operating on a combination of wishful thinking and hunches but I am confident that the enthusiasm gap is being overstated in current polling. Either way, you are correct that 2011 will be brutal from a legislative standpoint.

I will go out on a limb here and say you are being way too pessimistic here. Yes the house is likely a lost cause (though it wouldn't totally shock me to see a narrow Dem majority) but the senate will stay in Dem hands. Reid will hold on against Angle, Hick-gate will push Manchin across the line, and the landslide in general will be less than predicted here. I think that nationally Dems are beginning to feel a sense of urgency that always comes later to the incumbent party who are less hungry and more complacent at the beginning of the election cycle. I know here at MyDD we are invested in being perpetually negative but I think that come Nov 3rd the picture will be less devastating than advertised.

Time will tell what Obama's strategy is with his cabinet appointments but at this juncture I am sticking to my feeling that he is doing his "centrist" thing because he believes that this is how he got elected and he is trying to put his money where his mouth is. For any of us to pretend that because he won the election there is no residual "fear of the unknown" factor with him would be foolish. He must I feel come into office with as much of the country behind him as possible. IF that means leaning his cabinet a little further rightward than he might have otherwise I am personally OK with that. Others may disagree but I am desperate for him to succeed legislatively and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point.

On Gergen's point, I saw this last night and laughed out loud when he said it. Chambliss' victory means nothing of the sort. For anyone to suggest that an incumbent Republican having to go to a run off to win his seat means that the Democrats have to move to the center to counter is ludicrous.

Thanks JErome. It takes a big blogger to be able to list the places where you were wrong and I for one appreciate the honesty. Especially on the point of Sarah Palin. As many were you were blown away by her initial impact, but there is a reason why people need to be on the national stage a little while before one judges them on their future merit. She is not likely to be the repub standard bearer in any successful elections.  

The primary battles here were some of the most intense and exciting blogging experiences I have ever had and I will always remember that time. Thanks for providing this platform for all of us to run our mouths.

The issue is not the vile filth posted by detractors of one candidate or the other but the really scathingly negative stuff written by the proprietor of the blog here.

Somebody should compile all of the outrageous anti-Obama statements Jerome made during the primaries. I am sure that besides this one there are some doozies he is sure to be embarrassed by now.

This is like Jerome's wet dream!

Scan--well done. Great diary. Its awesome to hear about your open-minded approach to your primary loss and how you let Obama win you over. I am glad he did. Thanks for the diary.

Just donated.