Pandering or an insider's view on the Speaker?

I have enjoyed reading James Magazine since it began publication. It has a great group of writers, including a couple of my favorites, Larry Walker and Dick Pettys. Plus Matt Towery, who has been there and done that, knows about what he speaks and writes.

And although he does not write for the publication, its Vice Chairman is former Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard, a class act if there ever was one. And finally, we all recall that Tom Baxter recently joined its affiliate the Southern Political Report when he took early retirement from the AJC.

In a 1-10-05 post, I wrote:

[Matt Towery's] most recent venture is his launching of James, a magazine targeting politicians and business leaders in the state.

The official selling point for the magazine named after Georgia founder James Oglethorpe is that it touts an insider's view of state politics, as well as edgy business stories.

The unofficial selling point -- which I can report from personal experience Matt Towery loves to hear -- is that it's to be the magazine that Georgia Trend "used to be" (to my knowledge, Matt has not said this, and this is not my assessment, just the unofficial line if you please).

With the above background, I was surprised to say the least to read last night in the March 2008 issue:

House Speaker Glenn Richardson. His head was in the right place when he set out on the GREAT tax plan venture, but in James' opinion, he got ripped off by snake oil salesmen who served as "consultants" on the project. (Not to worry, Mr. Speaker; they hit speakers in several other states, too.) These "experts" were expert enough to be the only ones to reel in any "trickle down" dollars. . .

This might be the only compliment I have heard about the Speaker and in his role in the 2008 session of the General Assembly.

Is this an insider's view of state politics, or has James gotten into the sucking up business?