The next leader of the Democratic party may be important to some people, perhaps not nearly as vital as the next Director of Homeland Security is, but it ought to have some importance to the 55 million whose were disappointed that their candidate didn’t win. The news is to be found on the Internet, in the blogs, and for many party people, it’s the DailyKos. “Kos” has been covering this story regularly since the end of the election, and he has most readers of any weblog.

One regular reader is someone running for that chairman job: Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network, who told the San Francisco Chronicle earlier in the year: “Kos is one of the places I go for full-time information every day. If people like me do that, you know it’s having an impact.”

Just who is Kos, and what impact does he have? What is his influence on the Democratic Party, and the “netroots” movement in particular?

1. Who is Kos?
2. Kos the Institution
3. Kos the Advocate
4. Kos the Observer
5. Epilogue: Kos vs. Zack
6. Moving Forward

Author’s Note: This was first appeared as a single 7,500 word article on Thursday the 23rd, which I shared with a few friends for comments. I am splitting into the 6 pieces above, plus some supporting pieces. I will reconstitute this over the next few days, but I am well aware that Kos is taking off ten days for the holidays, and wouldn’t exactly be able to respond. Mostly I am looking to hear from his readers.