So sad. According to David Brooks today, the influence of the netroots peaked last August and has been waning ever since. His evidence for this grim conclusion? The fact that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is doing well, despite the fact that some bloggers prefer Obama and/or Edwards.
The Keyboard Kingpin might as well shut his site down right now.
Brooks also helpfully explains that the “victory formula” for Democrats is to act in accordance with the beliefs of David Brooks (Greenwald has more on that here).
The column ends with this little anecdote:
Both liberals and Republicans have an interest in exaggerating the netroots’ influence, but in reality that influence is surprisingly marginal, even among candidates for whom you’d think it would be strong.
Several weeks ago, I asked John Edwards what the YearlyKos event was like. He couldn’t remember which event I was talking about, and looked over to an aide for help.
Actually, I wonder if the exchange didn’t go more like this:
(As always, readers interested in the relative veracity and insights of David Brooks are encouraged to read Sasha Issenberg’s classic “Boo Boos in Paradise.”)