Arrington and MG may be many things, but they've fought and scrambled in the face of a lot of obstacles and naysayers to get where they are today. Arrington in particular, grew Techcrunch from a blog in his bedroom to the major presence that is today. Siegler is a talented writer, and has a lot of interesting technology insights. He also has a good eye for up and coming companies - which is obviously why Arrington recruited him as a General Partner for Crunch Fund.

I don't know Arrington personally, so I can't comment on the jerk comment.

Feel free to critique them for what they are, but let's be reasonable and respect them for what they've done. Saying that they've accomplished is a result of "undeserved influence" belittles that.