August 21, 2004

The Swift Boat Story Is Having an Effect

Adam Nagourney, Kerry's no. 1 shill at the New York Times, is forced to admit that the Swift Boat ads and brouhaha are hurting Kerry politically.

More interesting is Nagourney's whimpering about the increasingly influential new media -- talk radio and the blogosphere:
"In fairness to Mr. Kerry, his aides were faced with a strategic dilemma that has become distressingly familiar to campaigns in this era when so much unsubstantiated or even false information can reach the public through so many different forums, be it blogs or talk-show radio."
Translation: the print media and the major networks no longer control the agenda. Boo hoo!

Setting aside its regretful tone at the print press's loss of its gatekeeper role, Nagourney's comment confirms the prescience of Hugh Hewitt's book, which makes the same point in some detail.

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