In 2006, Mark Halperin, then with ABC News, and John Harris, then with the Washington Post, wrote an astute book on U.S. politics titled "The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008."

In one of their more provocative -- and widely noted -- assertions, they wrote, "Matt Drudge rules our world."

They elaborated over many pages, but their point came down to this: "With the exception of the Associated Press, there is no outlet other than the Drudge Report whose dispatches instantly can command the attention and energies of the most established newspapers and television newscasts."

In the two years since the book appeared, much has changed. Halperin works for Time magazine. Harris helped conceive Politico.com, and serves as editor in chief. And with the rise of other leading websites, most obviously Huffington Post, their analysis of the clout of Drudge is much more arguable.

Still, as any blog poster who gets a link on the Drudge page can testify, its influence remains something to behold.  So it was with interest that we noted a tidbit today on the website Halperin oversees, The Page.

The item was headlined "Oh, Matt!!!" The tease: "For the second straight day, powerful Internetist tries to tip the flow against (Barack) Obama."

The case is made here.  And we're sure we'll be among the many watching to see if Drudge continues the pattern Halperin detected.

-- Don Frederick

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