During the recent terrible election cycle, there were many "political" posts on this site. Further, there were even heated arguments, discussions, insults, and other heated things. I have to wonder whether it was worth it?

Supposedly, blogs were an important factor in the last election. I can't imagine why. I wouldn't trust anything I read in a blog. At least not without doing my own research. This pertains to sentiments with which I agree, and facts that support my positions. There simply is very little reason for a blog to be credible. Reputation doesn't matter. Bias doesn't matter. Blogs don't have any relevance in their owner's careers.

"Ah yes", you say, "But my blog is different. I really KNOW what I'm talking about. I have a political science degree!".

Actually that's what I say. But I'm sure there are others who say the same thing or something similar such as "I have an economics degree", "I AM the President", "I read this one book", "I am a reputable writer on such matters and have proven my credibility over the years with a great volume of well-respected and thoroughly researched analysis". Oh wait. Am I kidding?

On the other hand, should political writing be left only to the well known print journalists, talking heads, and media pundits? Thats probably not such a good idea. And before blog world, that is all there was. George Will, Safire, Kinsley, Krugman, think tank goons, etc... established guys. Of course, all of the REAL dirt (meaning boring facts with entirely mundane and non-headline-making realities) were and are still in books by people we've never heard of (well, I have), journals, and Congressional Quarterly.

There is also the problem of basically burning out. If I had to take a guess (and I have to), I'd say that blog traffic along the lines of the "Publish Post" type has significantly dropped in recent months. Thats a long way of saying that since the election, who cares? We're either happy or sad. And thats it. Frothy, righteous indignation is difficult to come by without a staff that is paid to be frothy and/or righteous (I'm looking at you Mr. O'Reilly).

Perhaps we should all just write what we want to. But BEWARE! Be VERY aware! The political blog is boring beast. It is filled with lies, innuendo, crap, and could suddenly disappear! I think its fair to say that the same can be said of the readers of political blogs.

In the case of this blog, it will continue to be what its always been. Probably. So there will still be the occasional political post whenever I feel sufficiently righteous and/or knowledgeable (which is really the same thing to be honest). However, take it with a grain of salt. Take it ALL with a grain of salt.

Stay tuned next time for a post about the taste of dog poop.