Guess the PBI (political blind item)
Ben Smith back in the days of The Politicker
I hope Ben Smith is making a lot of money. We miss him terribly over at The Daily Gotham, because we really had a conversation going on our blogs about the mess that is New York politics. With his replacement? Not so much fun as good old Ben.
Which is why I wonder if he's really cozy and happy over at his new digs. Ben is supposed to be the lefty voice over at Politico.com; yet with his current acid keyboard he's earning the badge of the Democrat's worst frenemy, especially if that Democrat happens to be John Edwards.
He's the guy who first wrote about Edwards' $400 haircuts. He is now throwing Edwards under not only the bus, but the SUV and the private jet as well.
((( C'mon Ben, dude. As if anybody would be able to run a presidential campaign on Northwest fucking Airlines. Commercial airlines are snakes on a plane, dude. Snakes on a moddafruggin' plane! )))
So it is no wonder that a certain a-list blogger wants to kick his ass.
Literally.
When I was at YearlyKos this particular a-list blogger --who is, by the way, someone I would have to count as one of my frenemies-- broke out into an expletive laced rant about Ben.
This took me totally by surprise given how this blogger had been all business all day and suddenly turned personal with the rant. I can't even remember the context or why Ben's name was mentioned but the blogger said, and I quote : "I need to get that motherfucker and kick his ass."
BS
"Ben is supposed to be the lefty voice over at Politico.com"
Is he? He's covering the Dems, but I don't think he's supposed to be the lefty voice.
I know Ben Smith, I worked with Ben Smith (kinda, as an originating blogger on Room
, Ben Smith is a friend of mine, Liza, Ben Smith is no lefty and he never was.
Ben was constantly accused of having a conservative bias on his creation the Politicker (which is part of a conservative newspaper's website). I didn't see it most of the time, but occasionally I caught a glimpse. In any case, he was never accused of having a liberal or "lefty" bias.
I don't read Politico as often as I think I should (I concentrate more on the NYC stuff), so I can't really say whether he has a bias on that site, but I think you are looking for a Ben Smith who never existed.
I agree, however, about missing him on the NYC blog scene, but as good a job as Azi is doing, I really miss him on the Politicker rather than the Daily Politics.