A little over a year ago we lost a wonderful and insightful friend in Molly Ivins. I have often wondered what her take on the current campaign would be and how she might in her own deft and charming way, cut through the spin and BS.

I know she would be engaged and having a great time, after all this is the women who nicknamed GWB, Shrub. So I went to some of her writings and tried to get a sense of what she might have to say.

Follow me over the fold and you'll see that as always not only did she have a "take" on this current election season, she also "nailed it."  

According to John McCaslin (of the admittedly conservative website Townhall.com) the height of the candidates plays a real and significant role in American politics and has for the better part of our history. In this article he makes the case that McCain doesn't have a chance if this trend holds true this election cycle. Follow me over the jump and I'll explain with links!!

This is the third installment of what I have been calling Open Columnist - a call for reader input into the nationally syndicated newspaper column I write every week for Creators Syndicate. As the first nationally syndicated newspaper columnist with direct connections to the Netroots, I am working hard to make this column something very different on all sorts of levels, one of which is its use of new technologies to stay as close to readers - and thus, the real world - as possible.

In the four months since the column officially kicked off, readers and editors have sent me an incredible amount of valuable information and feedback - and my writing is all the better for it, and I hope you will take a moment to give me your input today.

Although my constitution is not nearly hearty enough to browse the Free Republic, LGF, or RedState blogs, I do read conservative columnists, because it's important to know the enemy, even if their perspective sometimes makes you feel like you're flashing back to the  Brown Acid.

My local paper rotates Jonah Goldberg, Cal Thomas, and Kathleen Parker as their conservative selections. Ms. Parker actually often comes off as a human being, and on some topics appears to be a social libertarian. But as often, she’s just a lame apologist and shill for Americon business as usual.

Today's column was titled  On Bush Time following an interview she did with Dubya, and Parker tries to paint him as sincere and visionary. But what most infuriated me was the following:

While this may be a few days late, I've finally had time to respond to Columnist David Broder's offensive and idiotic comments in his February 6 column.  For those few who missed it, Broder wrote a column about about the recent DNC conference where all ten 2008 presidental contenters spoke.  

Popular Austin blues pianist Marcia Ball rattled the church windows with "Great Balls of Fire" as hundreds of friends and fans of Molly Ivins leapt to their feet and clapped out the rhythm Sunday in a farewell memorial service for the internationally known columnist.

It was a service that richocheted between quiet remembrance and roars of applause in the domed sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church in Austin, an easy stroll from the larger dome of the Texas Capitol, where Ivins first found a happy hunting ground for her political barbs as co-editor of the Texas Observer.

David Brooks must have regretted the day they introduced Times Select. Suddenly the readership that had access to the columnists dropped and it became much clearer who is read and who isn't.

Ever since Times Select came up, Brooks has only rarely figured on the list of Most E-Mailed articles.
During the same period Dowd, Friedman, Rich and Herbert have had many appearances on this list. Rich has been a regular with his Sunday column, and Dowd and Friedman make it to the list every week.

Brooks, however, is nowhere to be seen.
I suspect this is why he's been trying to switch his columns in midgame. Trying to reach a wider audience by buttering up to the "other side". But he's not very convincing.

Here's the list of hits over the last 7 days. The man's off the map. And this is what the lists usually look like.
http://www.nytimes.com/...

After watching Rocketboom's video reportage on the 2006 Webby Awards which shows him flattering the blogosphere after winning the Webby's Person of the Year, I am more convinced than ever that Tom Friedman is just a hack shilling his books, his column, and anything else that will make him money and gain him fortune.