The Blogometer, the new-ish daily roundup of the political blogosphere from the folks at The Hotline, puts its "blogger spotlight" on the LA Weekly's and The Nation's Marc Cooper. When they asked him his favorite bloggers, he gave shout-outs to some Los Angeles-based sites, including L.A. Observed. Also on his list of favorites were Roger L. Simon, Kausfiles, Political Animal, Matt Szabo and Joe Scott. Excerpts:

When did you start blogging and why?

I started in April 2004 "because it was there." I had been reading a lot of blogs and was intrigued. The truth is I had a website built then as a place to "park" info about my latest book "The Last Honest Place in America" which had just come out and I was considering blogging but wasn't sure. With trepidation I gave it a try and it was somewhat exhilarating. It felt great to be able to say whatever I wanted without going through the filter of an editor. I could write directly to the readers and not have to second-guess an editor's reaction. Editors usually aren't very smart is my experience. That's why they edit instead of write...

Who is your favorite mainstream media columnist?

Christopher Hitchens, though I guess he's not technically mainstream. I find most national political columnists very bland and boring. If I had to pick one MSM columnist, probably the L.A. Times' Steve Lopez who writes about, yes, Los Angeles.

No permalinks at the Blogometer. You have to hit the main site and search for Cooper.