Their clout rising, blogs are courted by Washington’s elite

Beltway politicos, famously slow to adopt technology, are wooing blogs – all but Trent Lott.

"Bloggers claim I was their first pelt, and I believe that. I’ll never read a blog," says the former Senate majority leader, who forfeited that title after bloggers Joshua Micah Marshall and Glenn Reynolds picked up a racially charged remark, drawing the attention of mainstream media (MSM) and his Senate colleagues.

Blogs (short for web logs) are websites that can be as basic as an online diary, or as fully fledged as a political community. And when the latter variety seizes upon a topic – creating a blog swarm – the results can be overwhelming.

From former CBS anchor Dan Rather, stung by blog exposure over his use of forged documents, to the negative buzz about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, political blogs aren’t just reacting to the news: they’re making it.

That’s why politicians are eager to co-opt them – or, at least, engage them.

By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1027/p01s03-uspo.html?s=hns