second of all, the point isn’t that mccain said this stuff: it’s to be expected, he’s a member of what he calls the “loyal oppostion”, and so part of his job is to undermine the president’s agenda.

But it is maureen dowd’s job, AS A JOURNALIST/ COLUMNIST FOR THE NYT, to call bullshit when necessary. Just because John McCain says something is so, doesn’t make it so: remember when he said the fundamentals of our economy are strong?

The point is that reporting is not the same as stenography. Reporters and columnists are supposed to criticize what politicians tell them, because politicians are prone to lying and misrepresenting the facts.

What maureen dowd did wasn’t reporting on mccain’s twitters: what she did was let john mccain borrow her column to lob questionable and easily debunked claims at barack obama, who he opposes.

that’s not reporting: that’s stenography.