Another blogger rumble

The blogosphere and Larry Summers, summarized by NYTimes.com:

Today’s Internet-driven, media-saturated era is promoting two things inimical to the sort of absolute power Harvard’s leaders have long been used to: transparency and the ability of like-minded people to network easily. …

The Internet has played an unprecedented role, both in spreading the news and in rallying the troops on both sides. The liberal blogosphere has taken up the controversy energetically: a single anti-Summers post on Daily Kos drew more than 800 comments, some from Harvard alumni. Other sites have posted the main documents in the dispute, and are encouraging people to contact the media. Mr. Summers is being defended by conservative blogs and studentsforlarry.org, which has an online petition. Even the normally reclusive Harvard Corporation has posted a letter supporting Mr. Summers on an alumni Web site.

Let’s run through the list of people the blogosphere, history’s most powerful tool for transparency and networking like-minded people, has significantly helped or hurt: Clinton (1998), Lott (2002), Raines (2003), Dean (fall 2003), Rather (October 2004), Bush (October 2004), Jordan (January 2004), Gannon (February 2004), Summers (February 2004).

Bush? Why Bush? Because he might well have lost if the blogs hadn’t broken Rathergate.

Notice the acceleration? Graph those and it looks kinda like a seismograph leading up to a 9.0 earthquake.

(Imagine Watergate on blogs.)