Bob Somerby started his web site, The Daily Howler,
in March 1998. One year later, in March 1999, coverage of Campaign 2000 began. Somerby started to cover the story chronicled in How He Got There.Before that, these things had occurred:
In 1969, the author graduated from Harvard College (Cambridge, Mass.) with a degree in philosophy. He spent the bulk of the next twelve years teaching fifth grade in the Baltimore City Schools. Like the better-known Siddhartha, he developed real wisdom during this period. He penned the occasional op-ed column for the Baltimore Sun.
Starting in the early 1980s, he began to perform as a stand-up comedian, eventually becoming a cover boy for Washington's City Paper. ("Bob Somerby turns a stand-up act into stand-up art.") During his years as a comedian, he performed for President Clinton, both Senators Dole, and at the Westward Ho Lounge in Grand Forks, North Dakota. On many occasions, the audience laughed. "Somerby offers a rare treat," the Washington Post once opined, "jokes based on ideas."
In 1998, Somerby launched The Daily Howler, an on-line critique of the Washington press corps. As a press critic, he has appeared on C-Span's Washington Journal, on NPR's Diane Rehm Show, and even on the late, lamented CNN vehicle, Crossfire.
The Daily Howler began in March 1998. The remarkable story described in this book begins one year after that.