Drudging America

Do you read the Drudge Report?

If so, you are aware that the not-so-hidden secret of inside-the-beltway-reporting is that everyone does, usually a few times a day, and most news stories break there before they ever reach 24-hour news networks or the front page of major newspapers. A clever mix of international politics, Washington rumor-mill, and "human interest" stories, as well as a massive collection of links to almost any website you can think of dealing with politics (Rosie O'Donnell?), the Drudge Report stands as the unchallenged champion of wire-to-net news reporting. (There are a lot of hyphens in that paragraph. - ed)

Even more interesting than the website itself, is the background of its creator, Matt Drudge.

Any biography, no matter how short, that can be found on the world-wide-web about the enigmatic Drudge, begins by describing him as an awkward, lonely, sad and ostracized child. (So this one will do the same. - ed) Most describe him as conservative. Some complain that his views slant his approach to reporting. (I see little evidence of this. - ed) Drudge himself claims to be closer to a libertarian. Details concerning his personal life abound. He did not attend college. (COLLEGE!!!!!! - ed) Various accounts have him formerly employed as a store clerk at a 7-Eleven, a Time/Life phone salesman, again as a clerk in a New York grocery store, and finally as a clerk in the gift shop of CBS Studios in California. Obsessed with a nostalgic view of journalists from the 20's and 30's, Drudge fashions himself a modern day "muckraker" and dresses the part, often appearing to have stepped directly out of a James Cagney film. He earns over a million dollars a year as an internet mogul and has flirted with careers in television and radio. Oh yeah, he also seems to be considered by many to be a homosexual, although he has denied this, and some reports link him romantically to leggy conservative author and "O'Reilly Factor" mouthpiece, Ann Coulter.

Also, it will reported here, probably for the first time, that he looks kind of like David Wain, the guy from the comedy troupe Stella.

While the personal accounts and political views of Mr. Drudge are conflicting and perhaps a bit mysterious, one thing seems abundantly clear...

I need a life.