Froomkin must read

I hope he doesn't get in trouble for being fair which means unbalanced.

The press seems to have been shocked into doing their job, but we still have a long way to go. This is a quibble, but I was struck at how Tim Russert has internalised spinmeister's tricks to the point that he contradicts himself without noticing

Here's Tim Russert talking to Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today Show" this morning: [snip]

"Will Katrina and the stumbling of the federal government define his second term? That's why the president has to be bold and assertive in trying to correct that impression."

The second statement asserts that the impression that the government stumbled is incorrect. The First statement asserts that the government stumbled. When spinners try to change an impression they always say they are "correcting" the impression claiming that it is false. Russert is suppposed to be a journalist and he just stated his impression that the federal government stumbled as a fact (as of course it is). To be consistent he would have had to write "fight that impression" or "change that impression". Instead he said "correct" which means he said his own belief is incorrect.

Maybe Russert should take a vacation, ride bike, cut a cake, strum a guitar and stay away from flaks until he becomes familiar with the English language again.

There is also the awesome evidence of the President's resolve (unsourced but fairly credible)
according to USA Today "An example of the president's loss of patience: 'Bush skipped his usual weekend biking outings'" Think of that probably less than 10,000 dead and he went a whole weekend without biking. Wow what a leader.