John Wayne of blogosphere; For Simon, the frontier is online.(NATION)(CULTURE, ET CETERA)

Byline: Robert Stacy McCain, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

For a while last spring, it seemed to many conservative bloggers that Fred Thompson might be on his way to becoming "the First Blogger."

"We know for a fact that he loved blogs," said Roger L. Simon, chief executive officer of PajamasMedia.com, which posted Mr. Thompson's tribute to the online community that had urged him to enter the Republican presidential campaign.

"By empowering individuals and building communities, the Internet provides a way of going around the inside-the-Beltway crowd to ...