It’s no doubt the McCain camp has a firm grasp on the importance of bloggers and the role blogging will have this cycle – proof is in the fact that the left is paying close attention.  But also worth noting is the fact that the MSM has taken notice too.

Below is an article about McCain’s blogger outreach, and how Patrick Hynes has paved the way for future campaigns.

The Washington Times (3/31, Dinan) reports, “Mr. McCain’s blogger outreach, the most extensive of any presidential campaign in either party, helped keep him afloat in the dark days last summer when the major press was sizing up his campaign grave. … For the campaign, it came down to deploying the campaign’s best asset – Mr. McCain himself – in a forum where he can excel. … It also helped that Mr. McCain treated bloggers similar to other reporters, including repeatedly inviting them to travel on the campaign bus with the press, said Matt Lewis, who blogs at TownHall.com. … Neither Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama’s campaigns returned calls about their Web outreach, though Jerome Armstrong, a liberal blogger at MyDD.com, said Mr. McCain’s regular outreach tops anything the two Democrats are doing, and he said it’s an approach he would recommend to any candidate. … As for Mr. Obama, he said the Illinois senator ‘didn’t do enough to reach out to his potential allies in the blogosphere and integrate them into the campaign.’ Now, when he runs into trouble, they are slower to rally to his defense. And last month, Mr. Obama told reporters on his campaign plane he doesn’t read blogs – something they took note of.”