Babble, Indeed

In a pretty typical demonstration of how to waste space, Maureen Dowd offers her latest attempts at witty put-downs, directed principally at the President and the political left. This one caught my eye:

W.’s reign of error so enraged Democrats that they that were bound by one desire: to get rid of him. Bush, Cheney and Rove inspired the Democrats to spawn a powerful lefty tower of babble led by Rachel Maddow, Michael Moore and the blogosphere.

Wow. Tower of babble. How... original. Okay, and the "tower" is built upon three mighty legs...

1. Michael Moore, who isn't even a Democrat and doesn't appear to have a significant political following.

2. The "blogosphere" which has proved to be pretty darn powerless, as you would expect, although I suspect Dowd is kvetching because the left-wing blogosphere holds a very low opinion of her columns. (Can that be said to distinguish them from any other faction of the blogosphere?); and

3. Rachel Maddow? Why do I feel the presence of a green-eyed monster.

I don't watch Maddow's show, save for an occasional clip I find online, but it's patent from those clips that Maddow is bright, informed and engaged. If Dowd thinks it's clever to include Maddow in her "tower of babble" conceit, I would like to see her challenge Maddow to an interview on the substantive issues of the day. At the end of the interview they can poll the audience as to who spent more time babbling. I very much expect that Maddow would be game. Maybe Dowd can try to convince Maddow that she's incredibly powerful in her position, shaping the agenda of the Democratic Party's left wing - that should be good for a few chuckles. And perhaps she can explain how a faction can be "powerful" when everybody with power is intent upon ignoring it, marginalizing it, or both.

So, how about it?