The One Were We Try To Save Matt's Ass.

Matthew Yglesias admits he is a little nervous about participating in an upcoming National Press Club panel on blogging. We are here to tell young Matt that he should not be nervous. He should be afraid. Very, very afraid.

A lot of very respectable bloggers have already pointed out that the panel is not representative of real bloggers and that the bloggers in who have been invited to the panel have questionable credentials. Both points are valid, but miss the bigger picture.

We don't know any other way to say this Matt, but you are being set up.

Step one was to announce a panel on blogging with a list of guests sure to annoy the left side of the blogosphear. Step two was to sit back and wait for the outrage. They didn't have to wait long. Step three was to pick up the phone and call one of the bright, young, shining stars of blogtopia.

"We screwed up Matt! It would be a huge help if you could show up to balance our panel."

the voice on the phone probably said.

When Matt hemmed and hawed about the panel members and how the topic wasn't really his thing, I'm sure the voice on the phone said something like:

"Come on Matt, more media exposure is always a good thing. It might open some new doors for your career..."

It doesn't really matter what they said though, the point is Matt agreed to show up.

Please Matt, think it through. People have already pointed out that the other bloggers on the panel are only experts on one thing: anal sex. We would like to make the perfectly obvious point that you do not need two experts in anal sex and one naive young blogger (that's you Matt) to hold a panel on Blogging and Journalism. You only need two experts on anal sex and a naive young blogger if you are shooting movies Matt.

Movies with titles like :

The Revenge Of Jim/Jeff - Gannon Invades the Liberal Left

We are pretty sure you don't want that kind of media exposure Matt.

We all know Wonkette can be pretty funny Matt, but only when she's providing color commentary about how someone else's unsuspecting ass was subject to invasion by America's most famous blogging, gay, republican, man-whore's little soldier.

So before you take a drink from that special bottle of water they hand in the panel green room. Before you start to feel strangely woozy. Before your GHB addled brain is struggling to figure out why one of your fellow panel members is wearing nothing but combat boots and a jock strap, take a moment to think all this through.

And for god's sake, trust your instincts.

You can thank us later.