John McCain's increasing meltdown into jealousy and fury seems invisible to most of the mainstream media, including Katie Couric's fawning piece on tonight's "CBS Evening News," which examined none of McCain's policies and, in fact, barely quoted McCain at all.

Gloria Borger, columnist for the conservative U.S. News & World Report, almost had it right — almost.

Borger's most recent column, republished on the CBS News web site, at least recognizes the petty distortions and petulant temper that increasingly define McCain and his campaign. She writes:

Getting mad made Clinton look small. McCain just looks mean.

Borger's prescription is for McCain to cool his jets and position himself as a "humble" servant of his country. But then Borger blows a fairly even-handed opinion piece with this:

So why not try to accentuate what works best for McCain, such as his credentials as someone who has spent a career bucking his party, working across the aisle, trying to fix things? Clinton's populist voice handed her success; McCain as a reformer is his best bet. After all, McCain was a leader in efforts to reform congressional pork-barrel spending, immigration, and ethics. He worked with Democrats on a truce to limit filibusters of Supreme Court nominees. He's against torture.

I won't quibble with Borger's quibble-worthy litany of praise, except for her last assertion: "He's against torture."

Every columnist is entitled to their own opinion; none are entitled to their own facts. Borger, while earning Brownie points for acknowledging McCain's tantrums, somehow missed this character flaw reported in the Feb. 16 edition of the Boston Globe:

JOHN MCCAIN this week had a choice between his principles and propping up a failed president. He chose the latter.

The Senate joined the House in passing an intelligence bill that would ban the CIA from using waterboarding as an interrogation tactic. The CIA would have to abide by the Army Field Manual, which also prohibits beatings, electric or temperature shocks, forced nudity, mock executions, and the use of dogs. Some of those abusive techniques were on global display in the torture photos from Abu Ghraib.

McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, has long condemned waterboarding as torture, making him more sensitive than President Bush on an issue that stained America's image. But the Arizona senator and virtual Republican nominee to replace Bush voted against the bill. Bush says he will veto the measure.

McCain said that while he remains opposed to waterboarding, "We always supported allowing the CIA to use extra measures."

If Borger's foray into honestly assessing McCain breaks down in the end, it may be that her subject's inconsistency has rubbed off on her. Or it may be that the Straight Talk Express is running on too much anger to counter with mere fact-checking.

If the media is no more accurate than the mean old man who can't get express straight talk, how are we all to keep from getting thrown under the bus by lies?