She didn’t lift it! She couldn’t of, she says, because she doesn’t read TPM, of course. She was just talking to a friend who told her something similar to what Marshall said, she guesses, only the friend must have told her the paragraph word for word and she must have copied it down word for word. Or maybe he emailed it to her. Oh it’s so confusing to know where one’s opinions come from sometimes in this postmodern pastiche world of journalism today!

Ha.

In either case, she wasn’t attributing somebody.

And so it’s official. Whether she likes it or not, Maureen Dowd is now kind of an unofficial member of the new media, an old dog learning old-new tricks, clumsily. She’s our maven mascot with a cautionary tale. If she’s going to be a blogger of any merit, though, she’s got to learn the rules! C’mon Dowd: Put in a link or a block quote or at least a hat tip when you’re “borrowing.”

Josh Marshall, give the woman some tips on blogging; she needs them and she’ll probably publish them word for word!