Flip story

Everyone has surely seen the story of Bush making a face when he pulled on a locked door while leaving a press conference. Our daily ran it. The link above is to the BBC, stalwart conservative Bush supporters.

It's silly enough. If you want to catch someone making a face all you have to do is try. You could even do it with Bill. And when someone deliberately makes a joke, well, you just have to wonder if the Manhattan media picks and chooses when to cover it (No, really, just suspend disbelief, and it's possible to wonder what the Manhattan media's method is).

Perhaps I'm wrong, but isn't there a segment of the media and the other Democrats who believes Bush is stupid?

But for all the media coverage of a trivial moment, nothing beats The Old Gray Mare. They didnt' run the one photo of Bush pulling the face. No, they ran, count them, four photos, telling an entire story.

Could this be funny and interesting? I'm skeptical. But if you're an editor, I think you have to ask yourself, does this fit a story line that you, your staff and a large part of your readership believe, rather than news? And if you're perpetuating that storyline when it's not news, what exactly are you?