Don't get me wrong. I am a big supporter. Been to both Yearlykos events in Las Vegas and Chicago. Always agreed with Markos' postings 95% of the time and am glad he has been posting more often as of late. The reason I say he lost is strictly from a PR point of view. In terms of substance the debate was a draw.
Markos appeared slightly anxious and defensive. Ford was cool and polished. Ford succeeded because he came across as reasonable and focused. His argument that the conservative DLC was somehow, properly understood, really a group of progressive revolutionary wonks was laughable. Most alarming when Gregory tired to pin down Kos on whether DailyKos was a liberal/left of center site he equivocated. Note to Markos: if you are going to go after Democrats who aren't proud to be real Democrats you can't turn around and say Dailykos is not a liberal-leaning website. I realize there is a wide spectrum of views on the site but let's get real. There is nothing wrong with being a liberal. Kos's failure to address this question specifically undercut his claim that the DLC was not in line with real Democratic values.