Altercation dead on here, particularly about "The Note", which seems to exist in a little world of its own lately--

"One of the too many reasons American politics is too idiotic for words is the refusal of journalists to think, even for a second, about the absurdity of the crap they are asked to pass along to their readers. This is the modus operandi of even the most elite of the mainstream media. 'We are not judging the credibility of Kerry or the (Swift Boat) Veterans, we just print the facts," Washington Post Executive Editor explains. Take a look at what the smart guys at "The Note" credit this morning as Bush's "best" line to the New York Times:

Five twenty-sevens--I think these ought to be outlawed. I think they should have been outlawed a year ago. We have billionaires writing checks, large checks, to influence the outcome of the election.

This is his best line? Does anyone want to bother to point out that it is completely nonsensical and hypocritical, given that the signature on the bottom of the piece of paper that put the current campaign finance law into operation reads "George W. Bush?" If they "should have been outlawed," they why in heaven's name didn't Bush refuse to sign the law? Isn't he calling himself a hypocrite? And if the president thinks that Kerry is telling the truth about his service in Vietnam, then why is he unwilling to criticize the Swift Boat liars who, on behalf of George Bush's election efforts, are insisting that he isn't. Perhaps the Swift Liars wouldn't care if Bush told them to stop, but it sure would go a ways to reducing the effectiveness of a slander that Bush himself says he thinks is false. And this is supposed to be the candidate with "character," I remind you. What good is a media that cannot draw even these elementary conclusions? And this is his "best" line. God help us."