The strength of one

So, the guy from Daily Kos is coming into the world headquarters of Polinaut to talk to All Things Considered today. They're taping the interview at 2:30 or so.

I just strolled by the ATC cubicle to tell them I wanted the extended version (pre-edited) of the interview as soon as they're done, so I can get it on the site in this news cycle.

Tom Crann, who's reading the guy's book, asked me what I would ask him? I guess my answer amounts to "nothing about politics."

Frankly, I've started to pare down the number of national blog sites I read with a political philosophy -- Powerline, Daily Kos, Red State, for example -- because I know what they're going to say. They might come up with new ways to say it; but they end up saying the same thing.

I like radio talk shows, although I'm not very interested in radio talk show hosts. I like radio talk show callers. They're "local." They have a voice and something -- sometimes -- interesting to say.

I think local blogs are much more interesting than the "aristocracy blogs" for a number of reasons. One is that they're usually written by just one person. In fact, I think the more people contribute to a blog, the less interesting it is because it no longer has a "voice."

You look at Daily Kos, now, and it's many, many people. It takes, many, many people to feed the beast. But the New York Times is many, many people. The Washington Post is many, many people and the Pioneer Press is many, many people (at least for now).

So what's the difference?

This gets back a little bit to what I wrote last night. The beauty of a blog is that it's singular -- one person's thoughts. And the hardest part of blogging is that it's one person. So what is at the same time the medium's strengths, is also its fundamental weakness.

One of my must-read local bloggers -- Bogus Gold -- provided a more eloquent perspective(he's a better writer for one thing).

The strength of my mission? Low expectations. Seriously, that's an advantage.

I write about what I want to, when I want to. I don't worry about being eclectic. If I get bored writing about a particular topic, I write about something else instead.

And, perhaps more importantly, I like to write. I'm amazed by the number of bloggers who admit that they don't. Except for the occasional video blog, blogs are simply a new medium for the same old writing. If you don't like to write, you're not going to like blogging very much.

Reading blogs, to me, is fun because I like listening in to other people's conversations at restaurants. That's the personal nature of the medium.

Who else masters this presentation? Tons of people, none of whom are going to be interviewed by a radio station today. But here's another one of my favorites -- 56572 -- from Pelican Rapids.

Friends and neighbors of Louise Sasso-Lundin, wife of Pete, mother of Phil, daughter-in-law of Lynn and Miriam are grieving the death of Louise this afternoon at the age of forty-five. Louise fainted while driving home along Highway 108, then drove off 108 at the East Lake Lida Road intersection. She must have struck her head when the Corolla bottomed out in the ditch. When she regained consciousness she called Pete. He came to get her and took her home. She had a bloody nose. A short time later she passed away. Pete said he had no idea why. Louise is to be cremated and her ashes flown back to her family in Boston. Pete and Phil, Lynn and Miriam can be condoled at 40364 275th Avenue, Pelican Rapids. I thought that Louise was a lovely, dignified woman. A dreary weekend just got a lot drearier.

Isn't that something? The elegance and beauty of the writer's single voice.

So, that's a long-winded way of answering the question: what would you ask Markos Moulitsas Z

• Politics Friday: Should we stop trusting pre-election polling?
• MPR News congressional debates: 7th District and 8th District
• Politics Friday: 1st District, 3rd District congressional candidates debate the issues