With votes finally about to be cast for the 2008 presidential primaries, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the end of this silliest of seasons is within sight. But before a single vote is tallied, let me make this simple observation: The MAN is going to win. The MAN always wins, and until something earth-shattering happens in American politics, the MAN will always win. Call it the Law of MAN.

Who da MAN? Well this year, that's Hillary Clinton and John McCain, of course. You see, the MAN is the Media's Anointed Nominee.

Two, three, and sometimes even four years before a given presidential election, Washington D.C.'s intelligensia and punditocracy proclaim who the next nominee for each party will be. Because many of these very serious people have a strong voice or influence in the mainstream media, the meme gets repeated throughout the country and a MAN for each party is determined well before anyone throws their hat into the ring. That's what I mean by the Media's Anointed Nominee.

by Mark Wiznitzer

The author is a former diplomat whose duties included reporting and analysis of foreign political developments.  The fundraising data reported in this article is from opensecrets.com and usaelectionpolls.com.

I used to think that Joe Klein was a New Dem.  After all, he spoke quite approvingly of Bill Clinton's policies, even if he expressed dismay about President Clinton's moral behavior.  Now after the latest in a series of fawning pieces about the manliness of George W. Bush, we know that Klein is just a suck-up to Presidents.

I explain in extended...

The "gang of 500" is a small group of Washington D.C. media people who are supposedly very influential in how national politics gets covered. These insiders didn't like Clinton, did't like Gore, and are covering for Bush. All of those points are accepted as true on blogs such as mydd.com and dailykos. com.

I have no problem with such beliefs. I too think that the way the mainstream covers politics in this country is horrible. It serves no one's interest that media personnel cover politics as a game and not as a serious matter. Here, however, is the question that I have been pondering: how much influence do these people really have?