As jmelli just reported, Markos, among other bloggers, was featured in part of a segment on tonight's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I've been writing about The Daily Show at length over the last month or so (here, here, and here) and try to watch it every night to both be entertained and to get some good analysis.

The Daily Show is clearly (and I believe admittedly) biased towards the left. That isn't to say that Jon Stewart does not have good conversations with conservatives like Bill Kristol or John McCain, or that he doesn't equally lampoon people on the right and the left; however, it's pretty clear that Stewart is left of center on many of his views.

Stewart and The Daily Show reach an enormous audience, especially given that the program is on cable late at night. I would imagine that his viewership is well educated, and I believe that ratings have shown that it is one of--if not the most--popular show in the 18-34 demographic. As a result, it has (in a sense) become a large part of the mainstream of modern liberal thought.

While the blogosphere is large and continuously growing, it still is relatively small compared to other outlets, especially The Daily Show. What is more, though politicians are beginning to realize the potential for connecting with the progressive grassroots base by advertising within the blogosphere and some media outlets gave some coverage to the fact that bloggers were given credentials to the Democratic National Convention, the vast majority of Americans probably are oblivious of what we are doing here.

I think the fact that millions of liberals and progressives watching The Daily Show got a glipse of Markos and heard even a small bit about blogs will go a long way in helping to make blogs more mainstream, at least within the progressive movement in the country. Even with the sparse network coverage given to bloggers, tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of more Americans have begun turning to blogs to get their information (my unique visitors here at Basie! last night were about 3 times the previous high for a day); I think this is all a good thing.

In the coming months, it will be our time to shine here in the blogosphere. We have made it into the mainstream, and now we must prove that we are worth the nation's attention. I know we can do it, but we need to endeavor to be more insightful, witty, and honest than the talking heads anyone can see on television or hear on talk radio. This year will not just mark the election of a new president--it will also mark the election of a new medium: BLOGS!