Talking Points Memo: analysis or flacking?

Josh Marshall has discovered a distaste for Sarah Palin's alleged "unapologetic appeal to resentment and victimology."   This must be a recent development.  He seemed to think John Edwards' "Two Americas" victimology was a great political tactic ("Yes, he explains it all exactly right, in a way that would cut right into the president’s deepest political vulnerabilities").   What's more, Marshall has decided recently that any references to Obama's less savory associations are "smears", which also appears to be a well-timed epiphany. 

A more cynical fellow would just assume that Marshall finds a way to rationalize whatever he already wanted to believe.  Hey, cognitive bias happens to all of us.  But the smart analysts - those who maintain some level of credibility - generally manage to avoid such overt displays of it.

Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo and the TPM sites are valuable, often producing high-quality reporting and analysis.   But there's a line between good ideological/partsan reporting...and, say, WorldNetDaily, BuzzFlash or BartCop.