The first blog I ever read -- Powerline

I mentioned in my first post that I read three blogs regularly. Let me tell you how I became a regular reader of Powerline.

In the late spring of 2003, I heard a story about a study done at the U.S. Treasury Department about the unfunded obligations in the Medicare and Social Security programs. (I will blog much more about the substance of these issues in a later post.) There were some accusations being made by the Financial Times that the Treasury had “shelved” the report, and, as I was about to head off to DC to start work at the Council of Economic Advisers, I was curious. Because I know this issue and the authors of the study myself, I can tell you that Powerline got it right in its commentary.

It was clear to me upon reading that one post that the guys running the blog were pretty sharp—and they have continued to impress me in the intervening months. It should not surprise you to learn that Powerline is operated by three Dartmouth alumni. Nor should you be surprised that they, and their readers, were instrumental in exposing the recent CBS documents on the President's National Guard service as inauthentic. (Start with this post, and keep scrolling forward in time.) In fact, both the Financial Times and the CBS posts show what I like about Powerline--they are holding the established media accountable to be accurate.

More generally, as I noted in my introduction of Andrew Sullivan last evening, this is one of the chief virtues of the blogosphere.