perfidy

Mark Steyn, in a recent article about the Alito nomination, quotes Michael Barone on the differing effects of the left and right blogosphere on American politics:

The left blogosphere has moved the Democrats off to the left, and the right blogosphere has undermined the credibility of the Republicans' adversaries in Old Media. Both changes help Bush and the Republicans.

This does not seem entirely implausible. We have all seen the effect of the right blogosphere in memogate, the spread of the Swift Boat Veteran's message, the fall of Sen. Frist, and many others. The left blogosphere has not really seemed to have any big coups like those of the right, but certainly they have been a powerful force in reinforcing the left's base - keeping them motivated and, more importantly, giving money. Dean's campaign was a classic example of this, as was the campaign of abortive Ohio Congressman and Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett.

It will be interesting to see how the blogosphere - both sides - affect the next election cycle.