The proper way for ISPs to handle this kind of problem is to meter bandwidth, not completely block off an entire service.

My personal theory is that there's a lot more interest in Ted Stevens thanks to his "intertubes" ... (Him being a lot more prominent is obviously another factor.)

Amen to that.

I thought just watching Fox News would be proof enough ...

Personally, if the press actually went "deeper" into Bill Ayers, etc., my opinion of them would be even lower than it is now, given how insubstantial many of the allegations were. And if they went "deep" into the tenuous connections between Obama and Ayers or Khalidi without going "deep" into their tenuous connections with McCain, that would be blatant bias ...