John Edwards Could Not be Reached for Comment

Drat–I must temporarily pause from my reflexive Newsweek bashing, and give the magazine praise: They’re brought in Mickey Kaus:

–I can’t very well pose as a neutral journalist since I recently ran for office as a Democrat. I don’t have opinions or “biases.” I have a platform. It’s here. I got 5% of the vote in the primary against incumbent Sen. Boxer, which was maybe a bit better than expected (though between you and me I expected to do better than better than expected). I may have been the only candidate in America who failed to ride the wave of anti-establishment anger to victory.

–I’ve often been accused of spending more time and energy criticizing my fellow Democrats than criticizing Republicans. This charge is completely … accurate. So sue me. There are plenty of other bloggers singlemindedly bashing the Republicans.

–Usually I write about what I care about, which is a weakness but I think also a strength. I don’t cover the waterfront. But I will try not to waste your time if I don’t think I have something to add.

—kausfiles on Newsweek won’t be quite the same as kausfiles on Slate. My early New Year’s resolution is to be a lot more interactive (e.g. responding to comments), a bit less insidery, and a lot more Instapundit-y–emulating the wildly popular Tennessee blogger who posts lots of short links to worthy articles by others. Please let me know how I’m doing.

Fair enough — but in the meantime, congrats to Newsweek on the first smart decision they’ve made since, well, ever.