"Deserve" rather overstates it, but I'd sure like to know.

The problem in my mind is that Josh has been reporting on the activities of Republican operative Roger Stone, however in the mean time he has been inside the inner circle of Clinton operative Blumenthal's dirty tricks campaign. He knows those emails have turned into articles attacking Obama. He knows those emails have shaped coverage of this campaign. And yet....

He got caught with his pants down. I think users do deserve answers.

I believe the main thing here is the desire for some transparency about the process of how the daily information packages are being influenced.

Josh certainly can't control who sends him an email, and like most other editors and reporters, he's a natural target by all those trying to work the refs.

But, as a former reporter myself, I think it is facinating to sometimes do a story by reporting on how the various operatives do their work, usually behind the scenes.

This is a legitimate press criticism angle, mainly because so much is at stake. And, there are several other examples to bring into focus somehow. For instance, why hasn't there been more followup stories about the Pentagon's generals and propaganda campaign? Is there a content analysis to be done that would show whether scandal stories are being pursued more against Democrats than against McCain (as I suspect), and why?

Another angle is a big-picture report on how the business of news gathering (print, electronic and online) is intersecting with this presidential campaign? Where is the money coming from, who's getting rich, and which interests are threatened, which bolstered, depending on who wins?

But I do think this Blumenthal story is something that ought to see the light of day, if there are any around who would be willing to do an honest, tough job of reporting on how this fits into the bigger picture.

Frankly, I think Josh and TPM are as qualified as any to do that.

No he is not required to tell us about his junk mail, but frankly a big story of this campaign has been email efforts and whisper campaigns to smear Obama from Clinton people. This just fits into that larger story, which Newsweek by the way had no problem reporting on, making it newsworthy.

All I am saying is that he, as a journalist, has seen these emails arrive in his inbox. And then he as a journalist has seen these emails turn into articles in publications. He knew it was a dirty tricks smear campaign, it is a camaign that fits into a larger story about other smear campaigns against this candidate using the same methods in this election. The perpetrator of this campaign has the nickname "Sid Vicious" in journalistic circles and yet Josh remains silent and is still silent at this very moment.

And, let me just point out, that Josh has had a good love of reporting on this Roger Stone fellow, who may or may not have done some dirty tricks. Who knows, he claims credit for Spitzer and tried to set-up a anti-Hillary group called C.U.N.T. But he has this thing happening right in front of his face. By his own standards it is newsworthy. But maybe not because Blumenthal is a Democrat or something.

Joe Conason, a recipient of the Blumenthal emails, says he doesn't think Blumenthal's emails -- consisting of certain negative stuff about Obama -- "crossed the line," in part because the journalitic titans to which the emails were addressed have too much integrity to be influenced by such material.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/05/02/blumenthal/

I don't think he's done anything illegal or something. It's just the Clinton nausea factor.

Well, I'll admit that Barack does say "ah." But to say that he's a "week" candidate is a bit of an exaggeration. He's lasted several months already.