Now if the Washington chattering classes would also retract such stories as Hamilton Jordan spitting Amaretto in an arc over the head of an intervening person (ever try anything like that?), we'd be on the road to real political news.

I will grudgingly say, though, that I liked the Post's correction: straightforward and chatty, unlike the usual cryptic notice in mainstream papers.

...except after c. So how should we spell "reciept"?

-Your resident grammarian

"...what seemed like a devastating report, with potential to impact the election."

Get real, Alex. Even if it was true, do you think it would actually affect the election?

That's two minutes of my life I won't get back, including one for writing yet another snarky comment about yet another non-story.

Yes, I'm shouting at you Hannity. Let's hear your own retraction today - you've been harping on this since the moment it came out. Glad we know your sources now, asshole.

I thought the Obamas only ate fried chicken, ribs and watermelon, and drank Kool-Aid!

Clearly, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing here.

remember Alex isn't a real reporter.

He is a media critic.

which makes him a few notches below TMZ's Harvey Levin.

...there are PUMA holdout sites? Really? I've got to get out more.

What a liberal elitist.

I have stayed in some pretty swell hotels...

and I really don't remember ANY of them have Lobster on the Room service menu.

I was being sarcastic.

Up here in Maine, lobster is now selling for about $4 a pound, so it's not exactly beyond the reach of Joe Six Pack, Joe the Plumber, or whatever Joe we're following this news cycle. I'm not plugged into the price of caviar, though, Iranian or otherwise.

When the two candidates were scheduled to appear in Oxford for the debate, our local food blog asked people to speculate what they would eat. Producing the following:

Obama - upscale french cuisine.

McCain - Southwestern chicken

Obama - A mixed salad w/arugula, roasted red bell pepper, goat cheese and pine nuts.

McCain - A good steak, baked potato, & creamed spinach

Mrs. McCain also mentioned on Rachael Ray that they had been eating a lot of fried chicken & they enjoyed cheesesteaks in Philly. She must have a terrific metabolism!

I'm afraid I just have to file this one under "What is wrong with people's brains?" because I can't wrap my head around how the BILLIONAIRE HEIRESS is down-homey folks and the CHILD OF A POOR SINGLE MOTHER is an elitist. What the fuck, people? I mean really, what the fuck? If Cindy McCain likes Philly Cheesesteaks it's only because she's eaten enough caviar in her lifetime to be thoroughly sick of caviar.

You know the message that little tidbit was trying to put forth as well as I do... that Michelle Obama is "n---- rich". That comes straight from the Rovian branch of the GOP.

Its another Reeks of Rove moment.

That's the best correction I've ever seen. Other papers could learn something.

would believe someone would order caviar of that stripe and then get some ghetto champagne that runs $44/bottle? Please. Unless that was another swipe at the lady.. "Black folks don't know likra!"

That menu calls for some old Dom at the very least. Now I'm all jealous.

I should have added in my letter that I do not believe there is any such thing as "n---- rich." It is despicable old racial stereotype. But I heard it said by white people -- particularly older whites -- all my life.

You know whose votes the GOP is aiming for with a trick like that. It's a modification of the Southern Strategy to appeal to old fart racists in the north.

DES-PER-A'-SHUN

There's another little smear within a smear. If Barak was at a meeting, why was Michelle ordering two whole lobsters? She's too thin to eat them both herself.

You'd think the identical signatures on both the Name and Signature lines might tip people off... but only if they're looking for signs of inauthenticity, which you don't do with Gospel Truth.

I expect my father has already forwarded this to his right-wing spam vector list.

Still, nice to see that Page Six can post a correction, and that they've dumped "Curveball" from their payroll.

I have it on good authority that the Obamas always eat DiGiorno pizzas instead of Jack's, the more economical choice. I should call Page 6.

As someone who has watched Jaws WAY too much, I was tickled to recognize the reference to Iranian caviar; maybe the "source" was also a fan of the movie. It comes during the sequence when Brody has just gotten the mayor to sign off on hiring Quint to kill the shark.

QUINT: Ten thousand dollars. Two hundred a day whether we catch him or not.

BRODY: You got it.

QUINT: Get the mayor off my back; no more of this zoning crap.

BRODY: You got it.

QUINT: One case of apricot brandy; you buy the lunch.

BRODY: Two cases, and I'll buy dinner when we get back.

QUINT: Champagne, dancing girls, Iranian caviar, and don't forget the color TV.

Beam

Good point! Michelle must be having an affair, right there in the same hotel her husband is meeting at! OMG, get it onto Drudge!

Thanks, Alex!

Gotta be alert, you know.

Murdoch's false news items could be forgotten (or even worse, never seen) if intrepid reporters like yourself don't pick them up and apread the message!

How eating lobster and caviar is odd anyway if you are wealthy. Granted, I've never known anyone to eat caviar anywhere other than some sort of social gathering. I just wish people weren't so stupid. Spending a lot of money on food is certainly a luxury, but it's not necessarily elitist. I'm sure most people would eat at a 4 star resturant at least once if they had the money. The meal is a memorable experience, like a vacation. No presidential nominee is broke and frankly I think someone should point out that if you are eating fried chicken and philly cheesteaks all the time you should be a little more concerned as a 70 year old man and a salad with some goat cheese every meal is much more beneficial to your health.

Also, lobster, isn't there this chain resturant called Red Lobster all over the country where plenty of middle class working people can eat a freaking lobster?

Plus I thought with all these food network shows that people were starting to realize that there is more to salads than iceberg and romaine and maybe our fat asses should eat more salad and less fried food.