“This is the Abu Ghraib of journalism!...Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib, everywhere you go. I heard that two million times, from when they reported in 2004 to right now. This is the Abu Ghraib of Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraibs for everyone! NEA Abu Ghraib! White House Abu Ghraib! ACORN Abu Ghraib! Journalism Abu Ghraib! You’ve all been exposed, you corrupt bastards," Andrew Breitbart, discussing the ACORN videos unveiled by his website, BigGovernment.com.
It's becoming clearer that Hollywood has made Breitbart nuts. I understand why. But embracing torture simply because a few celebs oppose it seems, well, a function of the derangement that has helped destroy the right for the past few years. That is not to say that Breitbart's sponsorship of the ACORN bust is a bad thing - just that the self-congratulation and paranoia undermines the impact, rather than helping it. Shafer gets it right, I think. It was:
one part 60 Minutes, two parts Punk'd, three parts Ali G, and four parts Michael Moore, all bubbling under a whipped topping of yellow journalism.
Which is what the First Amendment is all about.