Just yesterday, CNN posted a story from TIme Magazine questioning whether political shock jocks are bad for America, using not O’Reilly or even Limbaugh, but Glenn Beck as the example.  For Beck, it’s a mighty triumph that signals a passing of the torch from the his conservative counterparts.  But, the piece also argues that it signifies a broader attitude shift among the American people — they’re no longer disapproving; they’re downright mad.

As melodrama, it’s thumping good stuff. But as politics, it’s sort of a train wreck — at once powerful, spellbinding and uncontrolled. Like William Jennings Bryan whipping up populist Democrats over moneyed interests or the John Birch Society brooding over fluoride, Beck mines the timeless theme of the corrupt Them thwarting a virtuous Us.

Check out the entire piece here.