Did the liberals/Dems succumb to the ECHO CHAMBER effect?

Andrew Leonard on SALON.com thinks so, and starts the blame with himself:



"Nov. 3, 2004 Ê|Ê As I survey the wreckage of the lefty blogosphere Wednesday morning, it is easy to wonder: How could I, how could we, have been so wrong? How could the confidence and jubilation generated by the thriving communities at blogs like Atrios' Eschaton and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga's Daily Kos so thoroughly have evaporated into self-recrimination and despair? (To be sure, there have also been eloquent calls to arms.)


Like many a left-winger with broadband access, I've spent quite a bit of time in the past six months at such sites. I learned a lot about this country by doing so -- there's no better way to get quickly to the nitty-gritty of local politics and candidates all across the country than hearing from citizens involved. As a journalist, I've gotten scads of tips from the awesomely efficient early-warning system created by thousands of people coming together online. I enjoyed following the commentary on such sites during the presidential debates almost as much as I enjoyed watching John Kerry win them. And there's no question that the lefty blogosphere proved to be an effective fundraising mechanism.


But I feel now much like a kid who ate too much Halloween candy -- there's a taste in my mouth that tells me I overdosed. I fell victim to one of the Internet's most seductive illusions: the false reassurance of the echo chamber."


~ snip ~


Read the whole article here:


http://www.salon.com/tech/col/leon/2004/11/03/echo_chamber/index.html


My own take is that may have been partly true, but I'm also convinced that the votes were rigged in Ohio and Florida and New Mexico, among others.

What do you guys think?

the way the exit pollls did not match the final vote in swing states is proof to me that our side was not just drunk on some kind of liberal kool-aid.

"My own take is that may have been partly true, but I'm also convinced that the votes were rigged in Ohio and Florida and New Mexico, among others." "What do you guys think?"

If it was me doing the investigation I would want to see the voter rolls and compare them to the sign in registry.

this blatant discrepancy (which Greg Palast kept hammering away at on Randi's show yesterday)?

I think there was too much back-slapping and too many 'attaboys' going on here for our own good. While confidence is a good thing, overconfidence isn't, and we were warned...

I also agree that there has to be electronic monkey business with the BBVs, and more widespread that you allude to. Considering the number of senate races that went afoul, I would suspect there was wide spread tampering, to say the least.

I want a fair do-over!

We were overconfident and there was tampering. It's not that complicated.

I was questioning an assertion that you had not made

So much to read, so little time. I understand.