In another chapter in the ongoing tale of John McCain's efforts to repair relations with the right, McCain is now reaching out to conservative bloggers, with whom he's also had strained relations, CBS News reports.

The McCain camp is taking this outreach to the conservative blogosphere so seriously that top campaign aides John Weaver and Terry Nelson recently held a conference call with a group of conservative bloggers. Weaver and Nelson found themselves pummeled by a litany of complaints about the Senator, CBS News says.

Are the efforts working? Not yet, if the opinion of Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters is any indication: "I know, though, that some of my readers have already written they would stay home or vote for the Democrat if the Republicans went with McCain."

"If you pick up a reputation among the people who are hyper-interested in politics of being a jerk," Morrisey said, "they're going to tell their friends and it's going to turn up in water cooler conversations."

A major sticking point: McCain's support of campaign finance regulations — and the potential to restrict speech in the blogosphere. Other issues involve his overall friendliness with the mainstream media, and his work in 2005 to derail Republican attempts to end filibusters against President Bush's judicial nominees.

The McCain campaign isn't sure yet of how to heal the damage. "I don't think it was as much to smooth things over as to open up a dialogue," McCain spokesman Kevin McLaughlin told CBS. "I don't think we can necessarily say what our expectations are."