Memo to Ted Rall

Ted Rall is a self-proclaimed socialist who fancies himself a cartoonist, columnist and commentator. His anti-Bush rants are legendary among people who pay attention to such things.

In his latest column he tackles the blogosphere. In typical Rall fashion there's plenty of raving at plenty of targets, but it is his last two graphs that I would focus on.

Rall writes:

The mainstream media let Bush steal an election and lie his way into two wars. It allowed Condi Rice to be confirmed even though she got caught lying about the existence of Al Qaeda briefing papers given to her by the outgoing Clinton Administration. Lord knows the journalistic conglomerates need a firm boot in the butt, but the right-wing bloggers aren't ideologically inclined to deliver it.

Themes here that he's pounded away on for the last 3 years. Nothing new there, but now it includes a broad-brush characterization of bloggers as ideologically driven extensions of a right-wing power apparatus.

What of course this ignores is something that Scott Johnson of Powerline has explained numerous times: blogs allow intelligent people with expertise and knowledge to focus with laser-like precision on precisely those areas in which they are experts for comments, analysis and information. That summarizes exactly what happened with the CBS TANG memo's; people like Charles Johnson at LGF with years of experience in typesetting brought that knowledge and expertise to bear. No witch hunts, at least not among the responsible bloggers, just a push for the truth of the situation.

Rall finishes by saying:

Bloggers are ordinary people, many of them uneducated and with nothing interesting to say. They're sitting in their rec rooms, regurgitating and spinning what real journalists have dug up through hard work. They don't have sources, they don't report, and no one holds them accountable when they make mistakes or flat out lie. Yeah, there's a new sheriff in town. Unfortunately he's drunk, he's mean, and he works for the bad guys.

Here's where Rall misses the boat. Ted is paid to write and draw. His editor's place his work in their publications and present it to the public. Bloggers have no such luxury. Everybody who reads a blog does so voluntarily.

To find and retain readers, a blog must be well-written, intelligent and most importantly, accurate. If not, it disappears back into the vastness of the Internet and is forgotten.

Hugh Hewitt speaks to this all the time; bloggers are subjected to the harshest scrutiny of all, the marketplace of ideas. If they are irrelevant, if they are inaccurate, if they are uninteresting then they will not be read. Period.

No UPI editor can subject Rall's writings to such scrutiny. Though based on my limited exposure to his work, perhaps they should.