I’m glad that Ezra Klein wrote this column about how incredibly dishonest Paul Ryan’s speech was, but my reaction is still much like my reaction to fingernails on a chalkboard. Mr. Klein is so clearly pained by his inability to perform standard he said/she said/they both do it journalism that he’s practically begging people on the right not to send him hate mail. It’s like, “Oh my God, there’s no way to spin this as anything but a completely unprecedented level of dishonesty, but that makes us look biased. Don’t shoot the messenger. We’re not biased, I swear.”
I like the fact that Mr. Klein is willing to spell out his feelings because it’s honest. But it’s also telling. The extreme reluctance with which Mr. Klein finally concludes that he must call a spade a spade just demonstrates how much the GOP can get away with in the corporate media. After all, Klein has a lot more courage and integrity than your average corporate journalist. A lot more. And even he feels like he’s being roasted on a spit just by having to report this depressing news about the Romney campaign’s dishonesty.