Smartypants has a sad :-(

Lately I've developed a pattern. I get up in the morning, brush my teeth, make some coffee, and start perusing the internet for stories that catch my interest. Anything before 7:00 am (my local time) is usually unproductive because Steven Benen posts his first piece of the day at the Washington Monthly about that time. And NO ONE on the internet has a better nose for what's important to pragmatic progressives than Steve. As the day wears on, its also true that no one is as prolific as Steve - who usually posts over a dozen articles a day.

So I couldn't help but be sad yesterday when Steve announced he's leaving his gig with the Washington Monthly. And now we see his last headline there: And that's a wrap.

I tend not to talk too much about myself on the blog, but I hope readers will indulge me for a moment. I ran my own site from 2003 to 2008, and dreamed that I’d get picked up by a news outlet I enjoy and respect, so I could get paid to do what I love. The Washington Monthly gave me that opportunity three-and-a-half years ago, and for that, the editors, publishers, and the rest of the team here has my endless gratitude.

I meant what I said yesterday: I wasn’t prepared to leave this job unless something truly special came along, and fortunately for me, something did. The chance to work for Rachel Maddow and MSNBC is a dream gig that I couldn’t be more excited about.

I'll try my best to be happy for you - and you can bet that I'll follow you to your new gig. But right now I'm going to be sad for awhile. That's life I guess.