Even as talk radio was brutalizing Sen. John McCain in the Republican presidential primaries, conservative bloggers reached a respectful truce with the Arizona senator over touchy issues and gave him what the campaign called a "tremendous positive psychological" boost.
... "If anybody needed the blogosphere it was McCain," Mr. Lewis said, adding that Mr. McCain recently told bloggers he would continue to give them access throughout the campaign. "He essentially said, 'How could I not — there for a while this summer, you were the only people who talked to me.' "
... The calls usually consist of the candidate offering a few minutes' commentary on where he's campaigning, then he opens it up to questions. He occasionally makes news, including in October, answering a question from Heritage Foundation's Robert B. Bluey, when he reversed his long-held position and announced he would oppose the Law of the Sea treaty.
Bloggers Boosted McCain
