Say Matt Yglesias, trying very hard to get the world back on message (White House evil, Bush liar, Cheney mean, etc etc). One could take the bait and deal with all of the Red Herrings Yglesias throws up (not a great image). For example, surely, Yglesias would agree that Bush’s “sourcing” on WMDs was better than Rather’s on the 60 Minutes story. Indeed, Bush’s sourcing on the “yellowcake” story itself was better, despite the impression Yglesias tries to convey.
But I don’t want to take the bait, because that would take me off message. And the message of the day folks is Dan Rather is melt-imploding like those dudes who looked into the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Indiana Jones.
But, I should also note that Yglesias is making what some call a category error. The President of the United States isn’t a newsman — let alone the iconic personification of the establishment media righteousness. If Yglesias thinks Presidents should be judged by such standards, than I assume he thinks Bill Clinton should have been an intern at Weekly World News.