About how his influence has cratered during his campaign cycle? And how, since the Wall Street meltdown began six weeks ago, his brand of shallow, partisan, GOP gotcha attacks have been completely ineffective?

Well, yesterday he went all in on the very hard-to-believe tale from Pittsburgh about the McCain supporter who was mugged and whose assailant carved a “B” in her face after becoming enraged about her GOP loyalties.

It was The Drudge Report that posted blaring headlines about the story, and it was The Drudge Report that tried to push the story into the mainstream media, perhaps in one last attempt to leave its mark on the campaign.

Well, Drudge did leave a mark. Just not the one he wanted.

The Pittsburgh story has now officially been declared a hoax by the police, leaving Drudge right where he was at the beginning of the week; an irrelevant bystander in the campaign season.