Jay, I have another one for you: ”smear.” Didn’t that used to mean falsely accusing someone of saying or doing something awful — something he did not say or do?

I’m reading the Truther Van “smear” protests and I keep looking for the one that says, “He never said that,” or “He never signed that,” or “That audio-tape is phony.” So far, none of that. Instead we are getting “What’s a little harmless 9/11 truther jibber-jabber among Mumia fans?”

When Ted Kennedy said Bob Bork wanted to drive women to back-alley abortions and black kids to segregated lunch counters, that wasn’t true. Does that distinction matter anymore?