Overheard on Air America

On the way home from lunch at the IHOP, I tuned into Al Franken's show on Air America radio, the overtly liberal talk radio station.

In introducing his guest, David Maraniss, Franken said, "I'm a huge fan."

Maraniss, an associate editor at the Washington Post, replied, "And vice-versy." (They then had a brief, chuckle-laced exchange on "versa" versus "versy.")

On the face of it, not a striking bit of dialogue. But imagine for a moment a Washington Post editor publicly acknowledging that he is a "huge fan" of, say, Sean Hannity. Or God forbid, Rush Limbaugh. Too much chance of being completely written off by his colleagues, or by people like the journalist who lost faith in her therapist because because she (gasp) listened to Limbaugh.