TAPPED: "To me, what's consistently stunning about the Iraq coverage is how hard journalists are trying, even in the face of such disasters, to capture the rays of sunshine in postwar Iraq. This was happening before Bush had his 'filter' moment, and it's happening still. Far from being the naysayers the White House says they are, American media people often seem, way down in their heart of hearts, to be rooting for the mission in Iraq. Sometimes, the effort is downright poignant"

It's distressing to see so many conservative pundits and GOP officials attack them for not painting a prettier picture of what's going on. Conservatives are so used to waving around charges of media bias to explain away their own mistakes and problems that it's become a kind of crutch, a way to avoid realities on the ground. And that's especially true in Iraq, where the right seems almost constitutionally incapable of conceding when things go wrong.

the implication from RNC communications director Jim Dyke that the failures of the Bush Iraq policy should be blamed not on those who proposed and implemented the policy, but rather on those who opposed it, a tactic reminiscent of John Ashcroft's "aid and comfort to the terrorists" remark regarding opponents of the PATRIOT Act. This combination of scapegoats and strawmen makes it essentially impossible to have a rational debate about anything, and truly gives the lie to the alleged conservative enthusiasm for civility