SCCM

SCLM is "So-Called Liberal Media." Well, we should also have SCCM ("So-Called Competent Media")

Kevin Drum points out that a Bush admin lied on background here, and gets to the central nut of situation when he says:

He's not just bullshitting, either: he's flatly lying and hoping that it's not a big enough story for anyone to bother tracking down his sources.

That's really all there is to it. It is amazing how often you see the media take what people give them at face value without double-checking or asking probing questions. Dan Rather got fried for it, but that's a rare case (the right have been gunning for him for decades). More often I find myself watching press conferences or reading a series of reports on a given issue and thinking

"Why didn't you ask X?"

"Is Y really true?"

"Now we all now Z is crap... call him on it!"

But normally we get nothing... indifference? Access? Laziness?

Does it matter? Pick your reason; they all suck. And they are so bad now that folks will lie their asses off because they know the other guy isn't going to do anything about it.