Village "Games"

Take time to read Glenn Greenwald's scathing review of the latest gossipy tome, "Game Change," from Washington media Villagers Mark "Drudge Rules Our World" Halperin and junior partner John Heilemann. It's a perfect summation of all that is wrong with today's political "journalism" emanating from Washington, which prizes the sensational and shallow stories over substantive coverage of issues that impact our daily lives. To them, it's all a "game" and they simply keep score: who's up, who's down, who's in, who's out.

The book is full of anonymous, unattributed backbiting of the kind that you would normally find in supermarket tabloids. In particular, the duo's gratuitous, overkill smear of John and Elizabeth Edwards -- who have long since faded from the political scene in disgrace -- is causing some second thoughts from cable's talking heads this morning (e.g., MSNBC's besweatered Mika and Bob Woodward). Why was it necessary to publish anonymous, unflattering tattle about Elizabeth Edwards' role in her husband's campaign, when she is battling final stages of cancer? Was that necessary to round out the picture of the 2008 presidential primaries?

Greenwald nailed it once again.