To those of us who hoped Erick Erickson would leap into the Republican primary to succeed retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss–perhaps mixing it up with other “true conservatives” like Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey and maybe Karen Handel–today’s news bulletin from the blogger/commentator/commissar was very disappointing: he’s just leaving CNN, as part of a “shakeup” that’s already axed James Carville and Mary Matalin.
According to an article by TPM’s David Taintor, the “shakeup” may have been due to CNN’s desire to have more “panel-style” commentary, which means “personalities” who don’t live in or near Atlanta or Washington were no longer so desirable (Carville and Matalin live in New Orleans; Erickson is Georgia-based, but I think he still lives in Macon, which is a couple of hours away). It’s yet another indication that the widespread predictions of yore that modern technology would make geographical location vastly less important in journalism and other “verbal manipulation” occupations were a mite premature.
