Moulitsas, as King Kos, sits in the thrown overseeing the largest political site on the Internet, with substantial power to direct the conversation and raise money.

Can we get an editor? Kings sit in a "throne." Spellcheck is great but no substitute for a human editor/proofreader.

Interesting article, it sounds like there is the danger that those 4 "netroots" apostles could get a swelled head. How about a round of "ego checks" for the house?

I click on the link 'what are bloggers saying about this article' and I get a page that's completely blank.

Still a few bugs in the system?

Cozy up to the NRA, appease the soccer mom's, why not place banning on gay marriage and overturning Roe v Wade in the platform as well. Sad to see that Bush has won a victory over these particular democrats by turning them into republicans. I support their desire to win and agree that for too long the Dems have been the party of too many conflicting goals but I'll be sad if the future of the dems lies in just trying to win over those red state voters who are against the war.

Although the Bush Haters in bathrobes are there, natch.

Wait, no they're not!

But whatever; at least you were claiming the negative when repeating that sterotype. I have two more serious concerns:

"To date, of course, liberal bloggers do not have much to show for themselves in terms of victory, with the exception of Howard Dean's election as Democratic chairman. Candidates endorsed by the so-called netroots regularly fail to best other Democrats in primaries or Republicans in the general election. (In 2004, Moulitsas handpicked 13 candidates, including several long shots, without a single victory.) "

Jon Tester? And as far as other primary fights, were you talking specifically about Hackett? Because that's a pretty weird example (Hackett dropped out pretty amicably in favor of another good candidate - Brown - after talking to state and national Democratic leaders), and I can't think of any others.

"At the top, the Democratic blog movement is overseen by a small, and increasingly powerful, brain trust. They are organized, as one blogger explained to me, like a

royal court. Moulitsas, as King Kos, sits in the throne overseeing the largest

political site on the Internet, with substantial power to direct the conversation and raise money."

That's an interesting anonymous quote; were they afraid they'd lose their favored status in the upper reaches of the lefty blogospheric ziggurat, so they wouldn't give you their name?

Because, you know, talking about a group of people (kos, Armstrong) who are oriented towards decentralized, participatory activism, that's a pretty damned controversial thing to say. Almost like your in-the-know anonymous blogger had an axe to grind? Maybe they felt like they'd been slighted by the cool kids?

In any case, I would have dearly loved a little more evidence than one anonymous quote for your quite startling, and novel, suggestion that blogs - usually described as a forum where anyone can find a voice - are organized just how an archaic, undemocratic, and, hilariously, incredibly conservative form of government is.

But you're on deadline, right? Tough biz, that journalism.

I have to disagree with Eric Keller's letter -- perhaps "Dems have been the party of too many conflicting goals," but the netroots are not just concerned with winning, and certainly not just with the short term. The past 36 hours in Las Vegas have been inspiring. People from all walks of life and all corners of the country are connecting, collaborating, learning from one another. This is as democratic a community as I've ever witnessed. Speakers field questions for as long as they address each other. An introduction by screen name often elicits a burst of applause, a goofy nod.

This is not about conceding ideological ground to the right, or about reneging on the promises Democrats have historically made (and must make more vocally) to Americans: to support our institutions of education and health care, exercise dynamic diplomacy, to respect our personal freedoms of choice, of privacy, of expression ... and to f*@$^&g get honest! Represent us, not lobbyists. Hire people who KNOW HOW TO DO THEIR JOBS. If Democrats are elected we certainly will not befoul the Constitution with an amendment banning gay marriage, or restricting a woman's right to choose.

It is about reclaiming our country from the undue, and undoing, influence of a small but determined right wing, with an ideological agenda that is wildly out of step with what most Americans want, and whose message of fear is amplified to fever pitch to rattle their base and forestall true justice. It is about stepping up to fill a role abdicated by a mainstream media that is so deeply embedded in the culture of politics, spin, and veneer, many Americans are denied the information they need to participate in our democracy.

Everyone can be a blogger. Bloggers can support and ultimately make leaders. Every blogger can, in fact, be a leader.

Many of us do "hate" George W. Bush. That's just simplistic though, it sounds like we don't have every reason to feel he has utterly failed as President! Where are we after five years of his "leadership?" We are facing a huge deficit and increasing reliance on foreign banks and markets, while arrogant and incompetent policy has multiplied the number of our enemies, estranged former allies, and put American citizens in harm's way for the sake of a trumped-up threat, only to leave our homeland more vulnerable when a catstrophe struck. And will inevitably strike again, with increasing violence as we postpone more decisive action to protect the planet.

I digress. Mr. Scherer wrote:

At every session, every panel, and every hallway conversation, the underlying motivator had less to do with ideology than victory.

I don't know how you could have been everywhere at once, but it strikes me that attendees of YearlyKos are engaging one another in ways that broaden their ideological horizons, the horizons of what is possible in our public discourse and so in our nation's future. Many will return home energized to support a big-tent progressive movement online as well as in their own neighborhoods and precincts -- not just for the sake of winning in '06 or '08, but to do what we must to repair what the Bush administration has damaged and decisively correct America's course for years to come.