O'Donnell, Palin Trigger Blog Battles

As Election Day approaches, comments by two of the biggest names in the tea party movement-GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin-generated party-line responses in the blogosphere.

The No. 1 topic, at 17% of the links from October 18-22, stemmed from O'Donnell's comments during an October 19 debate, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. In the debate she questioned an aspect of the First Amendment, asking, "Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state?" A day before, in Reno, Nevada, Palin proclaimed that her supporters couldn't "party like it's 1773" until Washington is full of like-minded conservatives. Those remarks ranked No. 3 for the week at 8% of the links.