My first comment on MYDD on Monday was a bit of a wakeup call.  I shant tread casually upon any postings in the near future I should say.  My virgin comment met with some spirited discussion that has ultimately caused me pause in the endless ranting on my own blog (RedHogDiary.com) that I have resorted to over the news coming out of Washington lately.  I was reading an interesting diary on Monday by "Big Tent Democrat" where he questioned whether or not Democrats could afford to be bi-partisan in the upcoming election cycle.  (http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/7/30/2230 7/9830)  In particular he had serious questions about Barack Obama's campaigning on a populist theme where historically it has been more effective to draw distinct lines between Republicans and Democrats.  I saw where his post was going and do not necessarily disagree.  But much of what he saw as bad policy by the Obama campaign is exactly what draws me to it.  I commented, "Bad policy or not I saw Obama speak this morning in a packed gymnasium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  There are millions of Americans with the "audacity of hope" that Obama can change politics, can reform the way government works and believe that partisan politics have run their course.  People are scrambling to have a voice and Obama appears ready to give them one.  To admit that Conservatives will not allow us to take back our government is to surrender.  My money is with Obama.  There is room under his tent for you too!"  

I was not entirely prepared for what ensued after that.  My comment was attacked by another reader from the idea that Obama supporters are drinking too much of the green cool aid. He found a cross post I had done at MYDD in support of Obama "creepy" and told me so.  For the next 40 or so comments people either agreed with my dissenter or attacked him.  While it was fun for a moment to witness the life that my comment had taken on it didn't take long to see that partisanship is very strong among the supporters of candidates even in one's own party.  I suppose this all amounted to my premier naiveté political moment because I was somewhat shocked that people from the same party were so, how shall I say it?  Competitive?  

I went back the next day to jump back into the fray and suddenly felt like I had had enough.  We take our politics very seriously in Iowa but in all the rallies or caucus's I have attended we always remain at first neighbors and then Democrats and finally supporters of a given candidate.  I witnessed some brilliant minds at work at MYDD and recognized immediately that this was a game being played by professionals.  I love the site and will continue to visit but for a while I think I am going to concentrate on losing a little anger and maybe focus on some more positive things coming out of Washington on my site.  Once this election is over we are all going to have to live with each other.  That is the message coming from the Obama campaign and what drew me to him in the first place.  Besides that, the pro's aren't always right.  In 2004 Howard Dean disappeared quickly after running into my neighbors in Iowa.

         So why are you a blog reader?  What the hell are you looking for here that you can not get from the mainstream media?  Hullabaloo and The Carpetbagger commented recently on the pundits of Sunday morning talk shows and reflected on how out of touch they have become.  I suspect that may be one reason you read blogs.  A recent political cartoon sent to me by Red Hog reader Mike quipped, "I don't see anything wrong with the media selling advertising for their news entertainment divisions.  You never read or hear anything bad about those advertisers."  And politicians themselves are so finely scripted and handled by campaign managers that the words from their mouths are dubious at best.  Ironic then, that the medium most often criticized for lacking journalistic integrity would become such a huge force to be reckoned with for the limited number of minutes you afford for information.