In today's NYT, there is a story about Scott McClellan and how he is dealing with the fallout of the Plame affair on his credibility. Specifically, with the statement he made on October 7, 2003: "...and that's why I spoke to them [Libby and Rove], so that I could come back to you [the press corps] and say that they were not involved."

This statement was not true. But I don't think he lied - I don't believe he was intentionally deceiving the press corps. I think he was lied to and then passed that lie onto the press corps as the truth.

Since thefalsehood was exposed, the press corps has done a decent job of trying to get McClellan to comment on his earlier, now disproven, statements. They have also begun to question his credibility as a spokesperson for the White House.

In order for Scott McClellan to attempt to regain any sense of crediblity with the White House press corps (and the American public as a whole), either Karl Rove or Scott McClellan should leave the White House.

We continually (and justifiably) bitch about the lack of quality political news coverage because, frankly it sucks major league ass. We write letters to the news organizations, we threaten advertisers with boycotts, but it still sucks ass.

Here's an idea: What if Kos contributors banded together to reward one broadcast organization for sucking less than the others?

This weekend Jeb Bush said he wasn't going to run for President in 2008. On ABC's This Week, Jeb said "I'm not going to run for president in 2008. That's not my interest. I'm going to finish my term."

Most news outlets have mentioned this over the past 24 hours. Apparently, that's all it takes. You say that you are not going to run for President and the press then reports that you aren't going to run.

But it wasn't always the case. Throughout the Fall and Winter of 2003, the junior Senator from New York was constantly grilled about her Presidential abitions. She denied it, but no one believed her.

WASHINGTON -- Republican House leaders are warning their members that "Democrats will hit us hard on the environment" this election year.

Their advice? Tell voters that global warming has not been proved, that there are no clear links between air pollution and childhood asthma and that America's rivers and lakes aren't nearly as polluted as the Environmental Protection Agency says they are.

AP NewsBreak: Dean to End His Campaign    

By RON FOURNIER and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean (news - web sites) will end his campaign for the presidential nomination and oversee a new effort to keep his issues alive and his supporters organized on behalf of Democratic causes, two party officials said Wednesday.

Over the past week, Bush has made a major play for voters outside his base and goddamn it pisses me off!

O.K. Let's assume for a second that your candidate just dropped out and (s)he's not the last candidate to drop out. If they endorse another candidate, what will you do? What...will...you...do?

I have to say that I am extremely confused about the rapidly growing meme that "the media is out to get us." On another diary entry earlier today, two articles were highlighted that were offered as evidence for this idea: Dean: Dominator or Detonator? and The Hunt Through Dean's Past . I gotta say...I don't see it.

As I looked at the new national Harris poll, something didn't seem right. Dean's lead was certainly impressive, but the dramatic rise in "Not Sure" (from 26% to 34%) made me think that ganging up on Dean and further claims "unelectability" have begun to stick.

OK. So we still have nine candidates left in the running fo the Democratic nomination. Here's the question: in what order will they drop out and who will they throw their support to?

I was initially a big fan of Dean as I learned of his views, but rapidly lost interest in him after cries of "problems with electability" were combined with some seriously poor performances on television (specifically the Meet the Press interview and the Rock the Vote debate). Specifically, I seemed to detect a certain level of arrogance about his performances, especially when he refused (or was unable?) to effectively clarify his "Confederate Flag" position until his third attempt on the "Rock the Vote" debate. I was certainly detecting a great deal of stubborness in his inability to diffuse the situation until several days after the debate.