Argus

Sibby is having an email back-and-forth with former KELO-Land News anchor Steve Hemmingsen.  In his recent column, Hemmingsen is somewhat critical of bloggers but notes this:

There's no question that the blogs, which the Democrats wrote off but which are cheap to start, were an adjunct to the Thune victory. It was mostly TV commercials and Bush coattails, but in a close one everything is in play.

For their part, the Democrats might try a little honesty with their candidates. Most of them, including Senators Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson,run under a "don't ask, don't tell" banner. You hardly ever hear them mention their party except at party functions. It's probably good politics in an inherently Republican state, but it didn't work this time. At least the bloggers were there to keepreminding us that Daschle is a Democrat.

Hemmingsen is concerned about SDP and I being consultants and worries about if we're "objective."  Um, no, that's the thing about blogs.  They have points of view.  Hemmingsen is concerned because the blogs might "look like news."  They do?  It looks like an opinionated blog to me.  Here's the thing--blogs never claimed to be "objective," but the Argus Leader did and still does.  That's why the Argus became a pinata, because they're aren't "objective" either, thus the blog criticism.  And note that Hemmingsen never addresses the substantive evidence that the Argus was not objective during the campaign.  Let's have that debate.  And if Hemmingsen likes, he can start with the criticisms of the Argus made by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, World Magazine, The Weekly Standard, The New York Times, Roll Call, Talon News, Glenn Reynolds, Hugh Hewitt, John Hinderaker, John Fund, Jody Bottum...