LA Times Columnist Gave The Answer Away

From an August 9 column by LA Times columnist Tim Rutten:

"As pressure mounted on major newspapers to take some aspect of the unfolding scandal into account, editors and ombudsmen issued statements saying it would be unfair to publish anything until the Enquirer's stories had been "confirmed."

Well, there's confirming and then there's confirming. One sort occurs when an editor mutters, "Find somebody and have them make a few calls." Then there's the sort that comes when that editor summons an investigative reporter with a heart like ice and a mind like Torquemada's and says, "Follow this wherever it goes and peel this guy like an onion."

Suffice to say that the follow-up of the Enquirer's story fell into the former category in too many newsrooms, including that of The Times."

And I might add that when a Democrat is the subject of inquiry, the confirming falls into the former category, and when a Republican is the subject of inquiry, the confirming falls into the latter category. This is proved with John Edwards and Barack Obama, who were handled with kid gloves, and Sarah Palin, who is being handled with boxing gloves.