Defending the cross-over dribble...

I often criticize the media (and rightly so IMO), but to do so effectively means you should point out when they do actually seem to get something right... in this case, they didn't go for the Republicans' juke move away from Rummy's singularly horrid performance in front of the troops towards their outcry about how the reporter "manipulated the soldiers" and "inserted himself into the story."

In the past (both distant and recent), when the media dogs started to chase a Republican, the right would throw a bone in the opposite direction and the media would run after it and lose sight of the original objective. But the right's damage control doesn't seem to be working on this one...

Now, there is the issue that Rummy should have been placed in the harsh light of the media for public inspection well prior to this, but we'll leave that to the side for this post...

Side Note: In this week's TIME, the soldier who originally posed the question to Rummy, Thomas "Jerry" Wilson, says that he and the reporter got to be friends, and that the question was his idea (after the reporter urged him to come up with some intelligent queries)... the reporter suggested a less harsh phrasing, but Wilson wanted to make sure he was very clear. He is also a Bush supporter (See? Even if you back the guy, you can still ask questions and criticize... the rules do allow for that...)