Boztopia.com

So I’d like to thank my readers and friends for reminding me that I do best when I don’t fall into the zeitgeist and write about what everyone else is writing about. It takes a thick skin to opinionate when you’ve got the whole of the Internet out there to remind you when you go off-message, but it’s also one of the best features of the blogosphere, and for which I am immensely grateful.

So a few things to take from this:

1) Sara is not only a proud Obama supporter, but has developed over the years into a hell of a blogger who’s got a good handle on the issues and a lot of worthy things to say. Definitely add her to your blogrolls–she’s worth it.

2) I made the mistake a lot of people make of assuming that what I consider “issues” doesn’t reach people, and that I should focus on what I thought does reach them. Never underestimate your audience, but don’t assume they are there with you either. That means stay clear and focused on your intent.

3) Always remember that every word you say can come back to haunt you, and things you meant one way can easily be interpreted another way, no matter your intent. If you don’t believe me, ask Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy. Noon an (who wrote a brutal editorial supporting the choice of Palin and her ability to add to the McCain campaign) and Murphy both got caught on the mic after an MSNBC interview dissing Palin AND McCain both:

Rough transcript:

Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state government
work. Angler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these
guys, this is all how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know,
just run it up. And it’s not gonna work.

Murphy: You know what’s really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.

Heh. Let’s make that #4–no matter how bad you think you’ve missed the mark, someone else has just shot their hunting partner in the face by comparison.