Their clout rising, blogs are courted by Washington's elite | csmonitor.com

The Christian Science Monitor reports on the growing impact of blogs on official Washington. If blogs really had clout the Porkbusters campaign would be much further along than it is, so I am not so sure about "clout." But on the other hand:

Last week, House Republicans convened the first ever "Capitol Hill Blog Row." In a small committee room in the Capitol, a dozen bloggers, selected by an informal poll of GOP staff, were provided soft drinks, a high-speed Net connection, and access to top Republican figures for half a day. Issues discussed ranged from how to cut government spending to the future of the GOP.

snip

Movers and shakers in Washington, especially their younger staff, pay attention to blogs and, increasingly, seek to engage them.

Finally, I wonder how John McCain feels about this statement:

At the Democratic National Committee (DNC), chairman Howard Dean, who pioneered the use of the Internet to raise funds for his 2004 presidential campaign, has set up an Internet Department to get his message out to the blogs.

McCain was raising internet funds in 2000.