Glenn Greenwald over at Salon details the step-by-step process of how the right wing smear machine gets its message into our feckless mainstream news media.  From the right wing gutter, to Drudge, to more mainstream right wing columnists, to the wire services, and then to the Wise Old Men Of Washington, and the mainstream news media at large.  Greenwald details recent case in point. 

One should note here that Step 5, the Final Stage, is almost always sponsored by those who endlessly proclaim how irresponsible and substance-free and unserious political bloggers are, and who thereafter write pieces which do nothing other than repeat the latest Drudge gossip.

You should go read it, because we’ll be seeing a lot more of this kind of thing when the 2008 presidential campaign really gets going.