"A record-high 43% of Americans say they follow news about national politics very closely, up from 30% at this time last year and 36% during the last presidential election. The unprecedented upswing in interest in political news comes during a presidential election ... Americans' hyper-vigilance also comes at a time when they have more news sources than ever to choose from. In particular, the Internet and blogs have become a major source of election news ..." (Quoted from article)