Reason Writers Around Town: Matt Welch Talks Obama, McCain, and Tweetering With Ana Marie Cox on Bloggingheads

February 19, 2009

On Wednesday morning Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch and Air America's Ana Marie Cox discussed President Obama's handling of the media, the new administration's propagandistic jobs numbers, the warm smell of John McCain's bus, David Denby's terrible new book, and the alleged joys of tweetering, among other topics.

Click here for the whole "diavlog," clocking in at just under one hour.

Comments

Paul|2.19.09 @ 5:32PM|#

Is Air America still on the radio? What the hell, did they get a bailout or something?

Orange Line Special|2.19.09 @ 5:34PM|#

If you watch the whole thing, you can find out how much Reason owes you by selecting your state and "Reviewer" on this page.

cuernimus|2.19.09 @ 5:35PM|#

Why do these things have to be so damn long? I yearn to post a snarky critique, but watching two heads for an hour? Maybe if your two heads were smaller and on the bottom corners while the majority of the space could be occupied by a moderately attractive women to whom the two debaters type suggestions. I wonder if "floggingheads.tv" is available for purchase...

Warty|2.19.09 @ 5:36PM|#

Shut the fuck up, Lonewacko.

Paul|2.19.09 @ 5:38PM|#

Why do these things have to be so damn long?

I dunno, I actually enjoy them, but due to their length, I must watch at home.

|2.19.09 @ 5:56PM|#

Isn't Anne Marie Cox the chick that was the Capital Hill prostitute and blogged about it? Man she used to be kind of hot. Not any more. Wow is she not aging well.

Matt Welch|2.19.09 @ 6:10PM|#

Isn't Anne Marie Cox the chick that was the Capital Hill prostitute and blogged about it?

No. That was The Washingtonienne, who wasn't a prostitute per se, but screwed a lot of richer older Washington dudes who treated her nice. Ana wrote about it a lot, back when she was editor of Wonkette.

|2.19.09 @ 6:12PM|#

My mistake Matt. I knew she had something to do with some kind of Washington prositute scandel. I thought she was an editor for Time? How did she end up at Air America? That sucks for her.

|2.19.09 @ 6:13PM|#

I agree that an hour is way too long. I'd like to hear the part about David Denby's book - as he's my favorite film writer - but I'd need to know where in the hour it's located.

Matt Welch|2.19.09 @ 6:18PM|#

David Denby bit happens within the first 20 minutes? Probably around 10-15? And the whole Time thing has a link of its own, if you go to the Bloggingheads page. She left in December....

|2.19.09 @ 6:23PM|#

Matt,

She has virtually no economic knowlege. You keep making all of these economic points and she just gets these blank looks on her face and says "yeah I think transperancy and language is imporant, you know". Cox seems completely shallow and without anything substantive to add to the conversation.

|2.19.09 @ 6:28PM|#

Cox seems completely shallow and without anything substantive to add to the conversation.

She created Wonkette. I think that's a given. Now, if Matt was talking to Washingtonienne about politicians and their old balls, that could be pretty funny.

|2.19.09 @ 6:29PM|#

Wow, if someone would just get some charts and graffs, especially a really cute guy and explain TARP, wouldn't that be great? Cox is amazing.

|2.19.09 @ 6:38PM|#

"She created Wonkette. I think that's a given. Now, if Matt was talking to Washingtonienne about politicians and their old balls, that could be pretty funny."

That would be funny and more interesting than anything Cox has to say. Does she do anything but say you know and name drop?

Bingo|2.19.09 @ 6:41PM|#

Has anyone mentioned that if you took off Matt's glasses you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

|2.19.09 @ 6:49PM|#

Matt,

You need to have open auditions for Blogheads. Cox is as dumb as a box of rocks. I would say half of the regular commenters on Hit and Run would be more interesting and entertaining that her. Honestly, even though I don't agree with you on everything, you are a smart guy. You need someone with half a brain to do these things with.

Paul|2.19.09 @ 6:53PM|#

of these economic points and she just gets these blank looks on her face and says "yeah I think transperancy and language is imporant, you know".

It's because Ms. Cox is a politics-as-tabloid-gossip blogger. Policy isn't really her thing.

|2.19.09 @ 6:53PM|#

Has anyone mentioned that if you took off Matt's glasses you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

Are you saying Matt looks like a girl or that Cox looks like a Muppet?

I kid, Matt. You look like Andrew McCarthy, not a Muppet.

Paul|2.19.09 @ 6:54PM|#

Has anyone mentioned that if you took off Matt's glasses you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

Matt's the pretty one.

|2.19.09 @ 6:55PM|#

"It's because Ms. Cox is a politics-as-tabloid-gossip blogger. Policy isn't really her thing."

More like thinking isn't really her thing. I am not expecting Milton Friedman here. But she could at least say something of value. I never seen anyone on here that is so shallow.

Paul|2.19.09 @ 7:12PM|#

to wit:

reason: Dog Days is essentially a book about scandal. Is there a Washington scandal you can call a favorite?

Cox: Wow. Well, obviously I like the ones that involve fucking the best. But the Abramoff one-even though people are only being screwed metaphorically-I think is going to work out pretty well. I think the body count is going to be high, which always makes for a good scandal.

I imagine economic theory isn't her "bag".

|2.19.09 @ 7:14PM|#

Thank you Paul. I guess we know how she got her job at Time.

Matt Welch|2.19.09 @ 8:58PM|#

Has anyone mentioned that if you took off Matt's glasses you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

She bears a non-trivial resemblance to one of my sisters. My mom was nicknamed "Red" for many moons.

|2.20.09 @ 5:24AM|#

Okay, I watched the first ten minutes to get to the David Denby part - and wish I hadn't. I don't know anything about Denby's new book - although a critical analysis of "snark" sounds like a not-bad idea - but the guy has been a consistently excellent film writer for decades. I recently read two reviews he wrote in the early Seeventies - of "Getting Straight" and "Little Big Man" - and was amazed at how eloquently dead-on they were.

Anyway, I was glad you didn't laugh at Cox's weakly snarky internet porn crack. Making fun of Denby for writing about his addiction to internet porn seems immature and unserious. And calling him an "oversharer" for that reason is just unbearably trendy.

|2.20.09 @ 7:30AM|#

You all are just being mean because hating gingers is that last acceptable prejudice.

Snerk.

|2.20.09 @ 8:15AM|#

NOT OK!

Best part of sugarfree's linked article:

'The G word is an anagram of the N word,' says Richard Tyrone Jones.

Crypto-racism indeed.

GG|2.20.09 @ 1:29PM|#

A little Dapper Dan would tame Matt's cowlick right and proper.

|2.20.09 @ 1:46PM|#

To reiterate a trivial point, Matt finally found a debate partner with worse hair than his! Usually Ana looks better groomed.

And all you haters who ding her for ignorance and/or apathy re economic issues: so get Megan McArdle on the line. Or is there too much risk that she and Matt will just agree on everything and sit around with nothing to talk about?

Tim Cavanaugh|2.20.09 @ 3:25PM|#

I say Green Mamba is a Denby sock puppet.

Paul|2.20.09 @ 3:35PM|#

Now that I've watched the video, I think Ana did fine, and made some good comments on substance and style of the Obama administration. And frankly, Ana is more of a style type of person. The nitty-gritty of policy really isn't her thing, and I stand by that.

Paul|2.20.09 @ 3:39PM|#

so get Megan McArdle on the line. Or is there too much risk that she and Matt will just agree on everything and sit around with nothing to talk about?

I'm thinking not. Wasn't it McArdle who felt that speculators were the cause of all market ills? I don't believe Matt Welch follows that line of thinking.

Paul|2.20.09 @ 3:40PM|#

A little Dapper Dan would tame Matt's cowlick right and proper.

Matt's more of a Fop man. But it takes two weeks to get here...

|2.20.09 @ 11:25PM|#

Wrong, Tim, and my estimation of you just went down considerably.

Oh, you were just being snarky? That's even more annoying.

|2.21.09 @ 4:21PM|#

Cox looks and acts like she's 33 going on 17.