Pssst, did you hear? Arianna Huffington’s new celebrity/grass-roots/pundit elite/progressive/whatever blog launches today. I’m informing you because, as the Huffers tell us, those evil, corporatist media meanies don’t allow enough little voices to be heard. As Hollywood moonbat-turned-Huffington blogger Laurie David crowed: “The Huffington Post is going to balance the power out there that the media has had forever.”

Hmmm. Now, where did I read David’s statement? Oh, yeah, in the forever right-wing-controlled Washington Post. Which devoted its Style front-page to The Huffington Post and covered it ad nauseam. Like a gazillion of those other evil right-wing media outlets who keep stifling Arianna and her little people’s voices.

Fercryingoutloud.

Unlike a lot of observers, though, I don’t think Arianna’s going to fail. Arianna is very good at what she does, which is to collect people like curios and throw sprawling house parties for them–parties that attract never-ending hordes of looky-loos simultaneously bemused and repulsed by the grand spectacle of obsequiousness and megalomania dressed up as political dialogue.

I saw this firsthand when I worked for her husband briefly–and survived barely–during Michael Huffington’s hellish ‘94 Senate campaign. But that’s another story.

In the blogosphere, looky-loos equal traffic. And Arianna will get it. Despite ourselves. Face it: Many of us will go to the site and crane our necks to see who’s making an ass of himself in Huffington’s virtual living room, who’s passed out in the powder room, who’s plotting in the library, and who’s kissy-kissing in the foyer. Much of the time it will be stultifyingly boring, but some of us will keep going back in hopes that we’ll get to see Walter Cronkite trip or Ellen DeGeneres belch or Maggie Gyllenhall start dancing on the blog table in a drunken stupor.

In addition, I’m sure Arianna will be mining Al Franken’s research groupies for original reporting and political scoops to add some cred to the party. Her blogroll (as fascinating for its inclusions as its omissions, ahem!) sends a signal that she wants to be taken seriously as a blogger and that she wants the right side of the blogosphere to pay attention.

There is another way to keep tabs on the ego-fest if you must get your fix: I recommend visiting the party over at Laurence Simon and friends instead. They’ll be monitoring all the Huffers’ puffing so you don’t have to.

Go check it out and give his deserving blogs some traffic. Do it for the little people!

Update: Nikki Finke’s burning down the house.

And Austin Bay puts it succintly: It’s “a clog not a blog.”

The Great Satan’s final tally and summary of Day One Huff puffery is must-read.

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