Professional doom-sayer and enjoyably shrill press critic Bob Somerby says he's been at this whole "internet political writing" thing since 1997 and he's kinda distressed that not only hasn't nutty original blogger Matt Drudge gone away, but he still holds sway over campaign narratives! Which he sorta does, though we'd argue not to the extent that he used to, but it is amusing to see all the liberal bloggers taking him so seriously after spending so many cycles trying to discredit and marginalize him. It's sad but true: when Drudge types, we listen. How else to explain the media's non-stop coverage of adorable kitties and killer robots bent on the destruction of humanity? [DailyHowler]

A photo of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama wearing sort of an apron-looking thing and a funny turban? A Hillary Clinton staffer asks (according to Drudge): "Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?" Uh, sure. Sure we would. The photo, from 2006, shows Obama "fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya." It was sent around by Clinton's press office (once again, according to Drudge) this weekend, in an apparent attempt to prove that the Illinois Senator is a Muslim terrorist who wears a dress. Mischievous Matt Drudge gave the story an amusing anti-Clinton spin. Because his relationship with her is complicated.

Hill's Drudge envoy: still earning every dime of that paycheck. [Crooks and Liars]

As Super Tuesday drags to a middle, it's worthwhile to look at the rising and occasionally falling fortunes of New York Senator Hillary Clinton, our next, cryingest president, among our nation's most unfortunately influential lunatic opinion-makers.

Related: Sources: George Clooney Looking Good [The Onion]

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that it's thundering and lightning in New York City in the middle of January? Since Matt Drudge's weather link real estate is currently devoted to something about snow falling in Baghdad for the first time in a century, we thought we'd volunteer some headlines to blow this climatological phenomenon wildly out of perspective:

Yesterday I was having lunch with a pal who was schooling me on the real business of the web—did you know some people are really making a killing on the internet? I did know that, but only like, as a concept—and we wondered: Who reads Drudge? Who keeps it such a monster traffic site? So! Variety columnist Brian Lowry writes about what happens when you get a link on Drudge (everyone writes in to say they hope you get cancer you liberal for fellating Tim Robbins). That column—which isn't handled very well, he's way too snippy and classist, but hey—gets linked on Drudge! The comments from Drudge readers include: "You're fat"; "And remember when you are celebrating the Holidays JESUS is the reason for the season"; "Your a supposed journalist....take the heat for the dung you write and shut it!"; "You sure are fat"; "Why do jews always and I mean ALWAYS call people they disagree with anti-semitic? Its getting old already ok sons of abraham"; "I hope you get HIV and die from AIDS at one of your Hollywood butt plugging homo orgies"; "Most of us have jobs and families, instead of life 'partners,' granola, and burkenstocks."

The Drudge Report is the homepage for many news junkies — myself included. That's likely because Matt Drudge has never really jumped on the Web 2.0 bandwagon — no comments, no voting on stories, no submitting stories (except through the anonymous tips box) for peer review, no videos, no lolcats. The site has pretty much been the same since it launched in the late '90s — until today!

Drudge is linking this morning to Time's 'Person of the Year' prelude, in which Brian Williams, Aretha Franklin and Stephen King put forth their noms. His headline, for a column that appeared five days ago, about a month-old story, reads "NBC News Anchor Brian Williams Picks 'Mother Earth' For Time 'Person Of Year.'" Matt, this is not like you, come come now. Perhaps you have simply worn yourself out silly on all the crazy-ass weather we've been having lately? Previously: 'Time' Person Of The Year: Might Be Less Sucky Than Last Year?

Notoriously media-shy internet person Matt Drudge flew over to England to appear on News Corp's SkyNews (sans hat!). And in a rare TV interview, he slobbered all over Rupert Murdoch's newspapers and talked about how his unchanged-since-1997 news clearinghouse is the future of information dispersal. The interviewer did ask him an unexpected question about just who shares Matt's bed, but he declined to answer.

The Man Behind the Drudge Report Revaled [SkyNews via Soup Cans]

The Clinton/Drudge power-partnership remains strong! Watch out, Obama!
Earlier: Hatted Miami Weirdo Wields Great Media Power and Hill's Money Chinese, Drudge Play Joke.

Even though he's never quite been able to match the profound national mindfuck he laid down when he went live with Monica Lewinsky a couple minutes before everyone else, Matt Drudge's bizarre story sense and predilections still drive the larger political media narrative. Except for his weird weather obsession. But when he puts a semi-comprehensible political headline in 72-pt. font, people take note. The fact that he's a weirdo Crypto-Liberti-Publican has always been something of a problem for the liberals who used to control the media, but now, finally, they have a candidate craven enough to play Matt's game: Hillary Clinton!

It looks like the New York Observer has somehow yet to find a web host who can withstand a link from Matt Drudge. They're sort of like the goth girl of newspaper websites—when they get any attention they're all, "Oh my God don't look at me I'm so ugly!" Annnd crash. So while their politics desk continues to regularly get stories on the monster uber-crazy-blogger's website (today's apparently is "NY DEMS BAFFLED BY RUDY LEAD: 'I refuse to believe this could happen to our country'... "), their back-office continues to undermine their work. I bet that is really annoying!

We've been checking out Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz's new book, "Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War," an advance excerpt of which was posted Sunday with great hubbub on Drudge. That excerpt recounts a discussion between Dan Rather and '60 Minutes' executive producer Josh Howard that took place on the eve of the airing of the controversial piece that would end Rather's career at the network. Kurtz's story was treated as big news—but the substance, and some of the language as well, was no different from New York Press editor-in-chief David Blum's 2004 book, "Tick... Tick... Tick..: The Long Life and Turbulent Times of 60 Minutes."

Anyone who thinks that the age of subtlety has ended is clearly unfamiliar with the work of Matt Drudge. [Drudge Report]

Internet journalist Matt Drudge is quitting his radio show "to focus on his website and other endeavors." [Cincinnati Enquirer]

By now you'll have heard all about Larry Craig, the Republican senator from Idaho. He:

Phil Weiss crops up in today's New York mag with a write-around profile of king of all media Matt Drudge, who could not be found anywhere. (It does contain pretty much everything you might need to know about Matt, except where he is and if he's gay or not and why there might be Spanish overheard at what might or might not be his house.) This is becoming something of a trend at New York. In the hopper over there, that we know of, there are forthcoming stories on former Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald, a story sort-of-maybe about our boss Nick Denton, and a story about New York Observer owner and Jersey boy-king Jared Kushner; each subject is, when we last heard, variously barely or sort-of not-at-all participating. Do Adam Moss and his band of boys just crave rejection? Is there a self-help book for this?

News blog Drudge Report doesn't list Fark.com on its blogroll of sources. But a tell-tale URL on a story about emigration from Britain shows that Matt Drudge does, in fact, read the edgy social news site. [Drudge Report]

Wow. We bow to the master of the internets. Oooooo girl, consider us retired.