It looks like Bolten thinks the White House needs new and improved spin.

Same load of crap from the GOP.

Well, no one here on the 'internets' expected any shake up in the WH to really shake things up-more like putting lipstick on the proverbial pig.  I for one am glad they aren't learning from all their mistakes(not that they admit to mistakes which is the whole fucken problem) and will simply try and get the increasingly failing message out with the same theme-basically same shit/different day.  Which is supposed to be the definition of insanity isn't it?..Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

In spite of the MSM I do think the general public is starting to come out of it's coma and slowly realize that bushie hasn't said anything new since he took office basically...and that's not strong leader but one who isn't living in reality.  Boy I sound cautiously optimistic here for a change.

'Poverty is the worst form of violence'--Gandhi

And we also have sites such as Media Matters to call the MSM and Bushco on their crap.

Frodo failed...Bush has got the ring.

I don't see it.  Yes, the blogs are beginning to have some effect on the public at large, and there is hope that the impact will increase substantially in the future.  Still, the breakdown in Republican message control has mostly been caused by their own bumbling.  They have been using the same talking points for half a decade and it is pretty obvious now that the situation in (fill in the blank) is not getting better.  I think Bush's plummeting popularity has allowed more people in the media to ignore republican manipulation, and we would still be screaming into the wilderness if Bush were as popular as he was 4 years ago.

The true measure of blogosphere influence will be when Democratic elected officials start taking us seriously and speaking out on our issues.  The censure debacle shows that this is a long way in the future if it ever comes.

Bloggers can, and do, make information available that is not included in Paula Zahn's top ten stories. By taking advantage themselves of all the material that is "out there," bloggers can highlight the under-reported and censored news stories, and as BooMan points out, use the juxtaposition of those stories to put together twos and twos that corporate media would rather not do.

Whether that is "effective" depends on the goal of the blogger. They have certainly been effective at raising money for some American politicians. So effective, in fact, that almost every politician now has a blog, and many also send forth their virals and operatives to other blogs, and CNN now pays attention to the blogs, and so do corporations, buying ads on some of the more mainstream and popular ones. Howard Dean owes his current position as Lord High Chancellor of Democrats at least in part, to avid devotee bloggers.

I don't think there is any question that blogs are effective in communicating the positions and doings of mainstream politicians to prospective contributors, as well as keeping devotees in touch with each other, organizing their meetups, and of course encouraging people to send the politicians more money. :)

But are they effective in changing minds about policies? Changing peoples opinions, attitudes and beliefs?

That is a harder question to answer. Bloggers who hope to do that travel a hard road. It is possible that the abovementioned juxtaposition, combination of different news stories, arranged artfully on a blog, may oblige people to add two and two, and possibly change their minds. Or, as we have all seen, they may simply decide that the paper with the story that disagrees with their view is not a credible source.

My personal philosophy is that if you can make one person think, in the current situation, that has the potential to save one life, therefore those who have certain talents have something of a responsibility to use those talents as best they can, whether that is lining up news stories, or just humble old word writing.

I honestly don't think that there is much likelihood that I can write anything that can change an imperialist to an anti-imperialist, a racist to someone who embraces diversity, a devotee of a politician to a skeptic, or convince a manifest destiny adherent, or "exceptionalist," as I think they prefer to be called these days, to cast off that blood-soaked garment and array himself in the soft folds of brotherhood and peace, I do not cherish delusions that any lords will read my words and decide to free their serfs and go forth and march to encourage others to do so.

I do presume to hope that I may, on ocasion, make someone think.

one man's conspiracy is another man's business plan
Blog updated as needed

It's always the message with these guys not the substance.  To be expected I suppose, considering what a pissant job Bolten tid as Bush's budget chief.

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Wouldn't know a blog if it bit 'em in the ass and had WMD stamped all over it.


Would you hire George W Bush to be YOUR latex salesman?

I no particular order:

End the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan
Universal, Single Payer Health Care
Fair yet tough environmental controls (Global Warming)
Support for working people and our unions
Massive research and development of alternatives to oil
Investment in high quality education for everyone in all fields of endeavor
Support for the basic rights of all (Gay Marriage, women, minorities)
Etc., and Etc.

All of these points and more are supported by many, many people. Maybe even a majority. All this was a result of the work of the "left" and with out a blogosphere. Now imagine what can be done about getting these done with the blogs, and maybe a Dem or two:-)

Sometimes ya just gotta call it like ya see it!

For me there are 2 main elements relating to evaluating how "effective" the blogosphere is.

One can perhaps best be described by answering the question; "Are we better informed as a result of our involvement in the blogosphere?" I think the answer to this is an overwhelming Yes, (except of course for that portion of the blogosphere known as the "right wingnutosphere" where the propagation of ignorance, intolerance, hatred and Bush regime talking points seems to be the order of the day). I for one generally believe that anytime more people become better informed that this is a good thing which inevitably leads to our ability to be more effective in dealing with the realities of the world in which we live.

Measuring the effectiveness of the blogosphere itself on the societal mechanisms that define and empower public discourse and opinion is a more difficult task, not, in my opinion, because of a lack of substance on the part of the blogs, but simply because of a lack of reach in the broader information network that reaches most citizens. Put another way, if the blogosphere was a book it would be a book that served to enlighten many of it's readers with lots of relevant and factually accurate information eveyday; but it would also be a book that is simply at the top of the bestseller list, not being read by enough people across the social spectrum to make the kind of difference yet that we all want it to.

Added to the fact that the blogosphere still reaches, (or perhaps one might say "is still utilized by"), only a small percentage of the public relative to mass media, that mass media, despite it's willingness to use the internet to carry it's "product", remains aggressively antagonistic to those on the blogs who challenge them factually, stylistically, and economically. And this antagonism slows dramatically the progress the blogosphere makes toward having an increased share of influence in the public arena.

Denial is our most dangerous adversary.

Yes. The analysts on the left present more logical discussions. These viewpoints are appreciated and influence our daily interactions with those who limit their news to old media. The message spreads and refutes the typical right wing sound bites quite effectively.