BLOGGING THE BLUES.

• Date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Kilgore, Ed

In January 2012, I was hired for the formidable task of succeeding Steve Benen (and his predecessor Kevin Drum) as the chief writer for the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog. When I got on a conference call with Steve and my new boss, Paul Glastris, to discuss the transition and expectations, I was nervous but excited. The Monthly had been my favorite periodical for thirty years, and while I had seized the opportunity to contribute articles now and then, taking over the Animal was a whole new order of participation.

My mind was sort of wandering until Benen mentioned the daily quota of posts I would be expected to produce. He didn't just say twelve, did he? I thought. I knew Steve was a blogging machine, but still--twelve posts a day?

As Steve described his daily preparation for blogging, with a veritable breakfast buffet of reading to identify the political news of the day, I began to panic. I lived in California, you see, and I really did not want to have to wake up when Monterey's nocturnal raccoons were still sorting through the garbage cans. I determined that I would need some stratagem to buy time each morning to drink coffee, read, and think.

My expedient was a post called "Daylight Video": a music video, usually from YouTube, that kicked off each day at PA with something...