First Howard Dean suggests that the White House is playing "Hide the Salami" with Harriet Miers' qualifications and now CBS' John Roberts delivers himself of this bit of smuttiness:
CBS newsman John Roberts asked White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan if today's appointment of a new nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court amounted to little more than "sloppy seconds, or what?" Among other things this has a rather unfortunate sexual connotation.
After his words turned up on The Drudge Report and elsewhere, the new CBS "blog," The Public Eye, carried a full report and this apology:
"At the morning White House gaggle, I used an unfortunate choice of words in a question to Scott McClellan. Please be assured that there was no perjorative intent to my question. I was merely attempting to reconcile past statements about Harriet Miers with the President's new nominee for the Supreme Court.
"The early morning White House gaggle is an informal, free-wheeling and often irreverent forum, which is not broadcast and generally not publicly available.
"Obviously, my tone this morning was a little too casual.
"As we all experience from time to time, it was one of those 'oops' moments which we wish we could rewind and re-record.
"I apologize to anyone who took offense to my poor choice of words. I can assure you I meant none."
No, Mr. Roberts. What you meant is irrelevant. What you said was crude and degrading, not merely "a little too casual." What is it with you guys on the Left? Haven't you ever heard of class?
The irony here is that the media made a big deal about a private vulgarism directed at Senator Leahy by Vice President Cheney a year or so ago, but they have said nothing about Dean's gross breach of taste on national television, and they're certainly not going to criticize one of their own for his tastelessly salacious metaphor in a public forum.