Oliver writes:
The big difference between mainstream conservative and liberal critique of the press is that the right wants a tough press when its a Democrat and kneepadders when its a Republican. On the other side, liberals want the press to hold the President accountable regardless what his party is — but that means something a little more substantial than accusing the president of rape on prime time.
I don't know about that. My hunch is that a Democratic administration would wake thousands of hibernating hacks on the left -- in fact, I'd bet money on it. But that's really immaterial. Even if every Democrat would immediately begin bemoaning the oppositional press were they in power, that doesn't mean they're not right in doing the opposite today. And while some Republicans are ordering knee pads in bulk, were they to champion a substantive, oppositional press after a loss in 2008, they would have switched to the side of the angels. Power corrupts -- that's why we need a reflexively oppositional press corps, to keep all us fickle hacks honest.
