...and, just as obviously, she can speak for herself quite well.

my only thought as to how she could justify using so pejorative a quote, let alone having it stand anonymously, is because it suggests the state of mind of those in the intelligence community, and how they dismiss their critics: insult and diminish them, distort the facts they cite, and generally try to muddy the trail of malfeasance.

ms. mayer might also have felt that publishing the quote was useful as a bone to throw to her source. as you note, glenn, she does refute the source's misrepresentation of brennan's service, even if much lower down.

it may be that the price for information these days includes the reflexive nod to the outmoded cliche about bloggers, untrue now as it ever was. that her source insists on invoking it shows just how weak the argument was to consider brennan in the first place, and just how slow the intel community is to recognize that their impression of the blogosphere is mccain-like, i.e. years out of date (if in fact they really believe that characterization). another reason for better humint.

...what with its journalistic mission so blatantly compromised and all. i must say, such an example of this strained (not to say tortured) rationalization is highly revealing of the mentalities and forces at play.

mind you, it's unlikely npr is even feeling pressure from the administration -- something common enough under the bushites and their stooges on the npr board. no, this is merely inertial complacency: "best not to disturb the right wing. let's go along to get along."

and all it takes is a complete and utter surrender of first principles. impressive, really, at how little it takes.

...as ombudsman, since part of the job by definition is to be available for follow-up opportunities to explain to the public she supposedly serves. see below.

but she isn't serving the public, is she? she's not independent, either. she's a flack for a cowed and cowering "news" organization that has traded away its self-regard for the security of a weasel. npr, by allowing its very use of words and their meaning to be corrupted by outside forces, means it's no better than any propaganda machine financed by the government on which it reports.

fired? far from it. she'll be seeing a little something extra in her paycheck: a bonus for having to take the heat from the big bad blogosphere.

From wikipedia: •An ombudsman (English plural: conventionally ombudsmen) is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some external constituency while representing the broad scope of constituent interests.

...will be the FIRST bluedog the white house criticizes. meanwhile, progressives get spanked and demonized. is that really better than being ignored?

can we just drop the pretense that obama is really an agent of progressive change? that he really wants to be our bigtime lib/left flagbearer but the times, or the politics, or the repubs won't let him?

he's a clinton for the 21st century. that's all. got it?

...you're entitled to your own opinion, but NOT your own facts.

so glad we've gotten past THAT foolish fixation on accuracy and truth. this metarelativistic approach has certainly advanced public discourse and policy, don't you think? or don't you?

the sun rises in the east: debate among yourselves.