From the "wish I had thought of that" file.. Josh Marshall hammers it...

[Postman]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_05_30.php#003016

sni:

In other words, the president now argues that he is best equipped to guard the country from the full brunt of the consequences of his own misguided actions, managerial incompetence and dishonesty.

Strip away the chatter and isn't that pretty much the argument? Who will best be able to avert the worst case scenario end result of my policy?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. What is the story with Josh Marshall? Is he just a smart guy who writes

an excellent blog? Is he plugged into the players of the Democratic party at all? Does he have any influence beyond his excellent blog? Does he ever submit articles to more "famous" media?

[FrankBooth]

2. He's a journalist

I've read his stuff in Washington Monthly, and I believe he writes for other magazines and online sites.

[democracyindanger]

4. He's a journalist

I can't name who he writes for (Washington Monthly?), but I'm pretty sure he's got a regular gig with a print journal--at the very least he's a freelancer.

[JPJones]

6. He is often quoted by Howard Kurtz

in the Washington Post.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. Josh has alluded to the fact that...

some incredible stuff, from some really amazing "players", "comes in over his transom".

I am sure that part of that is the result of him being very smart, very educated and very measured and non-hyperbolic in his treatments.

[Gloria]

3. I think he as written some for Washington Monthly, that mag

that used to advertise all the time on IEAMERICA radio.....

He may even have some closer connection to WM, but I'm not 100% sure about that

[nostamj]

5. Who is Josh Marshall???

from his blog:

Joshua Micah Marshall is a writer living in Washington, DC. He is a Contributing Writer for the Washington Monthly and a columnist for The Hill. His articles on politics, culture and foreign affairs have appeared in The American Prospect, The Boston Globe, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The New York Post, The New York Times, Salon, Slate, The Washington Monthly and other publications. He has appeared on Crossfire (CNN), Hannity and Colmes (FOX), Hardball (MSNBC), Late Edition (CNN), NewsNight with Aaron Brown (CNN), O'Reilly Factor (FOX), Reliable Sources (CNN), Rivera Live (CNBC), Washington Journal (C-SPAN) and talk radio shows across the United States. He has a bachelors degree from Princeton University and a doctorate in American history from Brown University.

[kentuck]

7. Yep! This pretty well describes it....

<snip>
"The president's actions, if not his words, concede that Iraq has become the geopolitical equivalent of a botched surgery -- botched through some mix of the misdiagnosis of the original malady and the incompetence of the surgeon. Achieving the original goal of the surgery is now close to an afterthought. The effort is confined to closing up as quickly as possible and preventing the patient from dying on the table. And now the 'doctor', pressed for time and desperate for insight, stands over the patient with a scalpel in one hand and the other hurriedly leafing through a first year anatomy text book.>

[enough]

9. Yep -

snip>

The president's actions, if not his words, concede that Iraq has become the geopolitical equivalent of a botched surgery -- botched through some mix of the misdiagnosis of the original malady and the incompetence of the surgeon. Achieving the original goal of the surgery is now close to an afterthought. The effort is confined to closing up as quickly as possible and preventing the patient from dying on the table. And now the 'doctor', pressed for time and desperate for insight, stands over the patient with a scalpel in one hand and the other hurriedly leafing through a first year anatomy text book.

snip>

as you say, Postman, "wish I'd thought of that."