And does the distinction really matter any more?

Via Andrew Sullivan I found VoteForHillaryOnline, a blog that recently offered to pay people to leave pro-Hillary comments on blogs, an offer it laterrescinded based upon legal concerns.

They have a helpful style guide for the type of comments they are looking for:

A good example is this “Hello, this is a really interesting blog, I’m glad I stumbled upon it. I understand where you’re coming from but I really think you should check into Hillary Clinton. She’s got some really good ideas.”

It’s worth noting that we drew one such comment on the Ron Paul thread. Poor bastard never got his money for it.

In looking at the blog, I feel the vague sense of unease that comes from a lifetime of having people punk me. Is it real? Is it satire, as this post would suggest? Is it a dirty trick — created by a Hillary opponent to make her look bad? The policy discussions are semi-literate drivel, but then so are the policy discussions released by actual campaigns on both sides. But surely the Joke of the Day is meant to be ironic, or post-ironic, or post-post-ironic, or whatever it is we’re up to now?

Is it just me, or has it become unreasonably difficult to distinguish the reality of politics from mockery of politics?

Last 5 posts by Ken

• In Which I Indulge In The Very Appalling Elitist Liberal Sneering That is Destroying America - August 27th, 2010
• Was That Wrong? Should We Not Have Done That? - August 27th, 2010
• A Less Perfect Union - August 27th, 2010
• SPEECH Act A Bulwark Against Buffoonish Brits - August 27th, 2010
• Anatomy Of A Toner Scam - August 26th, 2010