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Political blogs are among the most common forms of Blogs . Most political blogs are news driven, and as such political bloggers will link to articles from news web sites, often adding their own Comments as well. Other politcal blogs heavily feature original commentary, with occasional hyperlinks to back up the blogger's talking points. Many of these blogs comment on whatever interests the author, as befits the blogger's political leanings, personal knowledge base, and momentary interests. Nearly all political blogs have an open and well-defined liberal or conservative bias. Blog enthusiasts often tout the openness of biases in the blogosphere as opposed to the supposed impartiality of "mainstream" sources, which they consider to be a sham. In return, many in the more established branches of the media criticize political bloggers for their anonymity and their lack of factual reliability. Most bloggers counter that what many pundits say also is not reliable. IMPACT ON US POLITICS While many countries have political blogs, the impact of such blogs on political discourse is most prominent in US Politics . The first major scandal that blogs participated in involved remarks made by then U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott , when the senator remarked that U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Strom Thurmond , who ran on a segregationist platform in 1948 , would have made a good president. The continued attention of bloggers, such as Josh Marshall and Atrios, kept the story alive and drew media attention not only to the event itself, but Lott's previous comments along the same lines and association with groups like the Council Of Conservative Citizens . Political blogs attracted further attention as a result of their use by two political candidates in 2003: Howard Dean and Wesley Clark . Both gained political buzz on the Internet, and particularly among bloggers, before they were taken seriously as candidates by traditional media outlets. Joe Trippi , Dean's campaign manager, made the Internet a particular focus of the campaign. Both candidates stumbled in the end, but were, at one time or another, thought of as front runners for the Democratic nomination. Senator John Kerry , the eventual Democratic nominee in 2004, maintained a blog on his own campaign site, as did his opponent, President George W. Bush . SUBTYPES OF POLITICAL BLOG One notable subspecies of political blog is the watch blog, a blog which sets out to criticize what the author considers systematic errors or bias in an online newspaper or news site—or perhaps even by a more popular blogger. These blogs occupy a niche market, although a scandal involving their chosen subject may elevate them to momentary importance. NOTABLE AMERICAN POLITICAL BLOGS AND BLOGGERS Below are the top 10 political blogs from The TTLB Blogosphere Ecosystem
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