.

Anyone with a brain knows that there are far more distortions coming from the Bush camp.

Kutrtz has an excellent take on the Halperin memo.

The Fairness Doctrine
Some conservatives are having a grand old time beating up on Mark Halperin. The reason: ABC's political director wrote a now-leaked memo saying there is no need for artificial balance in truth-squadding the claims and charges of the Bush and Kerry campaigns.He didn't say the press should be tougher on Bush, as some are suggesting. He said there were more distortions on the Bush side, and that the coverage should reflect this. In other words, if one side is using a howitzer and the other a popgun, you don't have to portray them as both firing ammunition, without making distinctions. As Fox anchor (and former ABCer) Chris Wallace put it: "An ABC News memo has been leaked that suggests the network is holding President Bush and Senator Kerry to different standards."

Actually, it doesn't say that at all. And the irony here is that Halperin is one of the few major media types willing to criticize his profession for sometimes displaying a leftward tilt--prompting hosannas from the right wing crowd. Now that he's saying the Bush camp engages in more distortions and should be called on it, the right is suddenly whacking him as unfair and unbalanced...read on