It was just a few years ago that I would see Josh, before he moved to New York, hunched over his laptop in the Starbucks of our Dupont Circle neighborhood, and wonder whether he was headed down some nutty Internet rabbit hole never to be heard from again. Now here I am thanking him for trusting me with his huge audience of loyal readers. Color me humbled.
Thanks also to (nearly) everyone who wrote in. I’d never quite appreciated the crucial role of blog readers until I started getting dozens of emails from complete strangers filled with all sorts of great insights and information. For instance, one very thoughtful reader who knows a lot about Mark Fuhrman insists he’s not the racist villain he was made out to be. A persistent skeptic in Ohio is certain there’s a good reason other Democrats are loath to challenge Mike DeWine and that Paul Hackett would face daunting odds if he does. And to that one Yngwie Malmsteen fan: devil’s horns right back at ya!
That white smoke you now see billowing in the sky is the fabled signal for “Habemas blogam,” or, “We have a new blogger.” That would be the formidable Steve Clemons, senior fellow at the New America Foundation and author of The Washington Note. As you may know, Steve and Josh are sympatico on many key issues, so no doubt Steve will be a terrific read for the duration of Josh’s absence.
And if you don’t already, please do visit The New Republic Online. You might not agree with everything there, but hopefully you’ll find it all provocative, informative, and generally worth your while. Cheers!
