IS THE NOISE MACHINE GETTING WEAKER?

Eric Boehlert notes that right-wing gossip Matt Drudge no longer has the political influence he once did and attributes that to the fact that America is facing some very serious problems, most notably a bad economy, and that doesn't leave much room for gossip. Perhaps so but I also noticed a more general weakening of the Machine when McCain continued to do well in the primaries despite the best efforts of Fats Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other gasbags. My guess is that enough people have gotten fed up with the polarizing tactics of the GOP and have begun to tune it out.