The Judy Miller affair is perfect Maureen Dowd material. NeoCon princess with a history of spreading misinformation for her Pentagon pals across the front page of the New York Times like a fine layer of nuclear waste, the "irresponsible martyrdom" that lead her to wrap herself in the First Amendment with all the subtlety of Norma Desmond begging for a klieg light, the paltry parade of C-list defenders and a "compromise" so self-serving even the mouth breathers mock her. The barbs verily write themselves.
And yet not one word has MoDo written about the woman who now brags to her friends about her $1.2 million book deal. Her lip must be in utter shreds for having been bitten so hard for so long.
In fact, not a peep on Miller has been uttered by the entire Times punditry corps. One can only conclude that they have been effectively muzzled. This is a tragedy of epic proportions for the blogosphere, who are still reeling from the loss of these voices behind the $49.95 TimesSelect wall (as blogger Attaturk lamented, "Well goodbye to bashing Bobo and Tierney....[that's] half my act.")
If the columnists are mute, the executive offices are not. Publisher Arthur Sulzberger has turned the editorial page into a veritable Judy mash note, and Judy publicly returns the affection. Following her grand jury testimony, Judy clutched Sulzberger so ardently it was anyone's guess whether she would make it to the microphones without giving him a spontaneous hand job, while simultaneously dragging husband Jason Epstein behind her like some used bowling ball who looked on the whole like he'd prefer to still be "supporting Judy" from aboard his Mediteranean cruise with bosomy dirty book writer Shirley Lord.
But what of the people in the news department? Actual reporters whose credibility and careers were unwillingly yoked to the poxy reporting and embarrassing First Amendment flogging of Judith Iscariot?
They don't seem too happy. Did some bloodless coup occur in the newsroom whereby Bill Keller was tied up and locked in the closet while damning letters were posted on the Times website, written to Judy from master of treacle Scooter Libby ("Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work---and life")?
According to sources within the Times, Miller is furious that she's somehow been rendered absurd by their exposure.
Oh if only MoDo were around to set her straight.