Press Deliverance

There is a wonderful aphorism, famously murdered by Dubya: "fool me once, shame on you..." And it seemed the somnambulent press was rousted from its slumber in response to the ironclad revelation that Scott McClellan and Karl Rove had been lying their asses off. Then they reverted to their more comfortable glassy-eyed credulity. In thinking about the coverage of the lead-up to the Roberts nomination, I am struck by the spectacular confluence of stupidity and cowardice required to let the White House manipulate them yet again -- and to continue to protect the "anonymous sources" who see lying to the press as both sport and duty. Do Rove and his minions make their favored scribes squeal like pigs before violating them?

But it is too generous to these poltroons to think of them as Ned Beatty in "Deliverance." Imagine "Deliverance, Part III" in which Ned returns to the Georgia back country wearing his new pigskin overalls with velcro butt-flap. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that he likes the abuse.