And, AR, thanks for your advice on how to format comments

Dorian

It's a terrific improvement!

Thanks!

The old design was user friendly. This one looks like it was just thrown together.

Just a suggestion.

While the other design wasn't exactly awesome, it was at least easy on the eyes. This seems like a half step away from web 2.0, more blocky, less easy on the eyes and the colors up top aren't particularly complimentary.

Would also probably look a bit better if the ads and widgets in the sidebar were centered within their blocks. The ad in the footer region should also be limited to smaller banner ads, if you have ads there at all (which I wouldn't)… there is an Amazon ad loaded there now that is cut because it's meant to only be a sidebar ad and it cuts off when it hits the bottom edge of the block.

I do like the layout though… the top bar is good, although again it would probably be better if it was centered.

Again, sorry to be the seemingly lone voice of dissent, but you're using WordPress (I'm more of a fan of Drupal, but WordPress is fine for a simple blog like this) and there are literally hundreds of more visually appealing themes you can use for free and modify to make unique that I think would look much better than this. I know I'm more picky than most, as I've done a dozen or so sites myself, but when I look at this I see something that a high school kid threw up in a weekend, not the best damn political blog in the country (in my opinion).

The last thing I'll say is… I would seriously consider paying a professional to come up with a totally unique theme for you guys that isn't just okay, but sharp, professional, light and modern… if I were you. I'm a grad student and have very little disposable income, but I'd throw down a bit of cash for that if you asked. I'll read this blog regardless (I barely ever actually see the website anyway as I read it through RSS feeds), but I'd hate for you to get less click throughs and lose potential readers because of a mediocre first impression.

Keep up the good content production boys and girls.

I also like the idea of shorter punchier intros to the posts since TMV has so many in a day. Rather than having it the automatically create the teaser, I think you should try to use wordpresses built in system for creating specialized teasers.

Was it a conscious decision to remove the space between “The” and “Moderate” in the banner text?

Also, kudos for simplifying the sidebar on post pages. Anything to cut down on the loading time and page complexity without sacrificing your revenue is a definite plus.

PS: What's a blogger got to do to get on the blogroll at TMV? =)

If you're using Firefox, you can download an add-on called BBCodeXtra [Direct link to it by clicking HERE], which will allow you to insert your own HTML tags on most anything you type into an internet text box.

You highlight <ins>whatever</ins> you want to format by dragging your cursor through it, then right clicking. Select the formatting you want from the pop-up menu. (Note: I have to use the third choice, “xhtmlXtra” to make it work.)

You can also insert links relatively easily from that menu, but it does take a little practice to get it right.

If you don't use Firefox, it's pretty easy to download. [Click HERE]

Not all tags work on this site, though. Experiment, and have fun!

Using HTML <big>tags</big> <small>is</small> what _I do!