Shadows and Substance

The Washington Post's Terry M. Neal looks at the Newsweek Koran desecration story and how the White House zeroed in on it. Mr Neal points to a recurring tactic of the administration to target an inaccuracy to draw attention away from the meat of the story. He says the White House tactic tries to "delegitimize the entire news media based on the mistakes or sloppy reporting of a few."

He goes on to point out how the White House has successfully used the tactic to silence or dilute charges by people in prominent positions in the government and military who disagree with the administration. (WashPost)