Watch out Politico and First Read. Competition is on the horizon, albeit a distant one.

Stanislaw "Stas" Gunkel may soon be a big name in the political blogosphere. He's already been recognized by President-elect Barack Obama, who told him in a letter to "make a difference everywhere you go."

Never mind that Gunkel is 7 years old and won't even be able to vote until 2019. The Edison Park boy's blog, planetstas.blogspot.com, has covered such heady topics as alternative energy, the war in Iraq and yes, even Sarah Palin.

"It was not, like, really hot," Gunkel told the Sun-Times about the talk on the presidential race during recess at Beaubien Elementary School, where he's in second grade. "We talked about it, and I read some Scholastic magazines."

His parents, Ann Hetzel Gunkel and David Gunkel are both academics and gave young Stas the idea because they both have blogs.