I think it is great that the Clinton campaign decided to give Matt Drudge the scoop on her third quarter fundraising numbers. It shows who she is. Oh…look at the savvy:
That people in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide.
The site is a potent combination of real scoops, gossip and innuendo aimed at Mr. Drudge’s targets of choice — some of it delivered with no apparent effort to determine its truth, as politicians of all stripes have discovered at times.
Aides in both parties acknowledge working harder than ever to get favorable coverage for their candidates — or unfavorable coverage of competitors — onto the Drudge Report’s home page, knowing that television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip.
I have visited Drudge maybe two times since the ’04 election. That’s maybe one/ten-thousandth the times I have visited Eschaton and Daily Kos. But, for the Clinton campaign, Drudge is still where it’s at. The same Drudge that scooped Isikoff and posted on the Lewinsky scandal. That’s the site that get’s the big story from the Clinton campaign.
Anyone that votes for her is truly a masochist.
And, you know, it’s not like Peter Daou doesn’t try. He’s given up on me after I repeatedly refused to ‘call him right away’. I have nothing against Peter but I don’t march to anyone’s tune. I know other bloggers return his calls…but apparently not enough that they think it is worth their time to give a scoop to a Democratic or progressive source.
They’re still living in 1998. I hope some miracle destroys her campaign before she can win the nomination.
