Wow.

This is my traffic chart over the last two days:

The only times it's ever looked like this is when a big blog links to me. These are people Googling for Rudy's exploratory committee. (It's not online yet, but here's his PAC.) In addition to the five-fold increase in traffic, a full third of those who've signed up for e-mail updates from this blog have signed up in the last three days. The inbox is filling up with offers to help in early primary states.

Clearly, this announcement has awakened something big. The "people power" that optimists like me could only speculate about in the event of a Rudy candidacy has finally materialized. You see it in the blog reactions from the right, which are strongly positive, in contrast to the ho-hum reaction to the other big announcement last week. If a response like this is any indication, the excitement Rudy's candidacy will generate will trump the inside baseball observers have focused on so intently these past few months.

Another interesting note. People do Google for Rudy's positions on some of the key hot-button social issues. And when they identify a side of the issue, they correctly guess Rudy's position in their search terms. Which means people are educated about where Rudy stands. It makes the threat of suddenly "exposing" those positions little more than a Beltway fantasy cooked up by the same folks who brought you last Tuesday's defeat.

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