[Overpaid Slacker]

Drago, I'm blushing.

I go in fits and starts, however. It's tiresome to attempt to make distinctions of fact and opinion with those who would equate major media obvious, systemic axe-grinding/cover-up scandal such as RatherGate with minor-league nobody Gannon, in briefings on a day pass.

Re: Fox news, I think it's closer to what I believe the middle to be; but again, this is the NEWS part of its programming. Too many of the "I can't be bothered by little things like definitional distinctions" crowd want to characterize O'Reilly as "news", when he's not. He's no more "news" than Jon Stewart, who also provides comment on contemporary newsworthy issues.

Where I think Fox excels is in having actual balance -- an acknowledged, self-declared conservative vs. an actual leftie, on more-or-less equal footing. The other networks, to the extent they allow a rightist viewpoint at all, do so as a set-up to a joke or as a caricature.

IMHO, in the MSM, there's very much a "this is what conservatives think" presentation of conservative positions by parties not at all sympathetic to such positions, and very little "here's a conservative, with equal time and respect, to tell you what conservatives believe." I think FoxNEWS (and a lot of other Fox current affairs programming) does a great job at having both (or more) sides present their opinions.

It's been commented on before, here and elsewhere -- the far Left is oftentimes more intolerant of contrary ideas and challenging opinions than it claims the Right to be. Exhibit #1 is the relative dearth of "Right-wing" commentary in the MSM.

JP