Recently in Give Me a Break- Category

For good reasons and bad, the news media is highly unpopular. Sometimes reporters go for the sensational over the  substantive, the easy blunt statement over the nuanced thought. Sometimes they simply get it wrong.

But attacking  the media is also a time-tested way for politicians to try to change a conversation taking a direction they don't like -- and that's clearly a key part of the strategy being employed in defense of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. And some Republican critics of the media are going way too far and are trying to mislead the public. Don't buy it -- unless, of course, you'd like the news media to stop doing its job.

OK, we all know that political ads play fast and loose with facts and logic. But do we really want to descend into an Orwellian world where what you stand for depends entirely on convenience -- or on what day of the week it is? John McCain has unleashed an ad that blames the high price for gasoline specifically on Barack Obama for taking the exact position that McCain held until a month ago.

If I read or hear one more story about how much is at stake for Barrack Obama as he heads overseas, I may just scream. The me-too hype is obnoxious and overdone.

There is little more entertaining in Washington during a slow summer than watching how various interests try to put one over on reporters and the public. Try this one: If a rally is called to demand (big dramatic pause, as indicated by very excited punctuation and capitalization) that the government "Stop the War on the Poor!" -- what do you think the actual policy goal is?

Republicans chafe when the media predicts a dirty campaign with the lion's share of mud thrown at Barack Obama. But if the past 24 hours are any guide, there's good reason for that assumption, and you can blame it on Republican House leader John Boehner.