Matthew Yglesias points out the strange effect that cable news has on politics:

It makes you think about the strange influence that daytime cable news has on American politics. The three networks combined have an aggregate daytime audience of roughly zero. But even though the audience, looked at nationally, amounts to rounding error the networks are hugely popular among the tiny number of people who work in professional politics. Just like traders have CNBC and Bloomberg on in their offices, political operatives are constantly tuned in to what’s happening on cable news. The result is a really bizarre hothouse scenario in which people are basically watching . . . well . . . nothing, but they’re riveted to it. How things “play” on cable news is considered fairly important even though no persuadable voters are watching it.

This is utterly bizarre to me, too. I rarely, if ever, watch cable news unless there’s a big story breaking. Well, okay, I also watch Glenn Beck when he’s on because he’s so mesmerizingly crazy.

On a related note, Jon Stewart’s takedown of CNN last night was one of the greatest things, well, ever:

Brilliant takedown.