MyDD :: And tonight's winner is Drudge

And tonight's winner is Drudge

by fladem, Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 12:04:34 AM EST

Tonight we witnessed what may become viewed as a "tipping point" in American Politics.

Not because I think Obama won. And not because I think Clinton won.

There was only one real winner in tonight's debate: Matt Drudge.

Think about the first 45 minutes of the debate tonight. How many of the questions ABC asked tonight were the result of issues that really took off when Matt Drudge highlighted them? I think the answer is at least half.
Tonight we saw the capitulation of the MSM to Matt Drudge. In fact, I think you can say that the debate tonight was Matt Drudge's crowning achievement. This was the night when the issues he highlighted came first, and other more serious concern (Iraq, The Economy...) were relegated to the back of the bus.

The left has no answer to Matt Drudge. We have answers to Limbaugh and Hannity, we know how to deal with them. And we know the MSM tends to minimize them.

But as of this writing we have no answer to Matt Drudge. In fact, how often over the last 3 months has the left blogsphere found itself discussing stories that originated on Drudge? It takes less than an hour for a critical story about either Clinton or Obama to become the subject of multiple diaries on DKos, or Mydd or other left/liberal websites.

Drudge is more powerful than Limbaugh for another reason: Drudge can drive revenue. When Drudge links to a story on the New York Times, the New York Times knows it immediately because they see an increase in traffic. On the Internet, traffic means revenue, and that gives Drudge power over the Main Stream Media in a way that Michael Savage could only dream about.

Make no mistake. Something significant happened tonight. And as of this writing I'll be damned if I know what to do about it.

Tags: Politics, Debate (all tags)

Permalink :: 12 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: And tonight's winner is Drudge (2.00 / 1)

actually - he's not the only real winner - it is also

kos
tpm
huffpo
msnbc

shall i keep going? all these outlets have typically been both sensationalist and pro-obama. now that abc has dropped the other shoe (namely keep the sensationalism, but remove the obama shield) many are crying foul.

"Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather Boa!" Allen Ginsberg

by canadian gal on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 12:16:31 AM EST

Very true. (2.00 / 1)

The Obama crowd is in full meltdown mode because Barack got treated like he was a Clinton for 40 mins. If you were to add up all the previous debates Hillary has received hours upon hours of these kinds of attacks by the moderators and other candidates.

by LatinoVoter on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 12:39:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Very true. (none / 0)

The issue isn't that Obama was pounded by the media. The issue is that ABC conducted a debate that was full of insignificant and non-important issues.

Regardless of who you support, you must agree that this was a terrible debate that failed to touch on issues that are important to the American public.

I ASSURE YOU, and I hope other Obama supporters agree with me, that if the attacks had been leveled at Senator Clinton I would be JUST as angry.

by RussTC3 on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 01:25:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The same kind of attacks have been (none / 0)

leveled at Hillary all through the primary and in all of the other debates to date and there was no outrage from the Obama fan base.

You see we've been telling you about this all along and you people have been telling us we are overly sensitive and just looking for reasons to be offended.

Obama reaped what he sowed this primary and I for one laughed my arse off seeing him get treated like Hillary has for the past 15 months.

And once the stopped giving him a taste of what they've given Hillary the debate was awesome and touched on a lot of important issues, like Affirmative Action, gun control and taxes. Stuff we didn't have room for before because Barack and the MSNBC thugs were busy wanting to talk about the 90s and Hillary's tax returns etc.

by LatinoVoter on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 01:31:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

America Lost (none / 0)

Period. I didn't care about Tuzla or Flagpin-gate I cared about health care, the economy, and why I am paying over $4 for gas and a gallon of milk. ABC should be ashamed of themselves. There are too many other things going on in this country for these idiots to waste an hour on wedge issues and not issues that are facing americans.

by regina1983 on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 01:45:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I think that its important for the Dems to win.. (none / 0)

Last night I think a lot of people realized how hard it will be for Obama to win with some of th issues he has. Like it or not, thats the truth.

We can't afford four more years of trickle down economics.

Health Care: WHY do we pay MORE and GET LESS?
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/con tent/full/hlthaff.28.1.w1/DC1

by architek on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 07:19:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And tonight's winner is Drudge (2.00 / 0)

There was only one real winner in tonight's debate: Matt Drudge.

And the loser: America.

Yes. Everyone. We all lost. ABC should be ashamed. What an offensive disgrace.

Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.

by sricki on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 12:21:27 AM EST

Hillary came out looking much more electable (none / 0)

I think that that is pretty obvious. The GOP will kill Obama with lots of the various issues brought up in the GE.

I came away very impressed with Obama's speaking ability, i think everyone was. Would that translate into his being a good President? Probably to a point. It certainly would be a huge improvement over Bush. But, I don't see him as being able to pull it off given some of the things that have happened, and I doubt if we have seen all of what is out there along these lines.

Health Care: WHY do we pay MORE and GET LESS?
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/con tent/full/hlthaff.28.1.w1/DC1

by architek on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 07:46:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hillary came out looking much more (none / 0)

The debate itself bothered me, though. Reminded me of the horrible TX debate. That one was painful for me to watch.

Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.

by sricki on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 01:13:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I think that Sen. Clinton (2.00 / 1)

wins debates when they are on the issues, she is a much better debater and has a better stance on many of the issues, however Drudge won this debate and he treats all of us like puppets and we all just dance along. I have no clue how to counter him and it makes me sad because normally I am somewhat smart, but this stumps me all hollow.

Student Guy=JoeMentum. No really Student Guy=JoeMentum, after all JoeMentum was an embarrassment so is Student Guy. This sig is FAIL!!

by Student Guy on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 01:11:34 AM EST

Hillary Wins Because She is Actress! (none / 0)

Hillary wins debates because she is a Consumate and Practiced Actress after years in the Whitehouse & Scandal! Look at her Performances in Bosnia Gate & her new one in "shooting ducks behind the cottage her grandfather built". So, if you want more performances and more spin, I guess Hillary is your Girl! If you want truth, inspiration and authenticity, than Barack is your Guy!

by bacalove on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 07:32:16 AM EST

Obama is evasive..esp. on healthcare..a BIG issue. (none / 0)

hes not truthful.. he may be 'tactful', but i think hillary is far better at explaining situations for what they are and not how we wish they would be..

on healthcare, for example.. we cant afford obamas dysfunctional healthcare plan..which will retain or possibly even worsten many of the current problems. pre-existing conditions will still make insurance so expensive many wont be able to afford it unless they are in a large group, such as employed by a major corporation. Thats where he is coming from. He's very pro-corporate on healthcare.

There are some fairly specific issues I have pointed out in diaries Ive done, read them.

Health Care: WHY do we pay MORE and GET LESS?
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/con tent/full/hlthaff.28.1.w1/DC1

by architek on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 07:53:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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