The extent to which Beltway news players will play dumb about the role that Fox News plays in maliciously muddying our public discourse never ceases to amaze me.

CBS News is the latest example with an article about how few Americans realize their taxes have gone down under President Obama. Why don't more people know that fact, CBS asks. The answer? “It's another example of White House messaging that isn't reaching through to most Americans.”

There's certainly some truth to that. But what's never mentioned, of course, is the fact that Fox News, and the GOP Noise Machine, have spent more than a year relentlessly, and purposefully, lying about Obama's tax policy.

For the Beltway press, that kind of high-priced, right-wing propaganda is rarely acknowledged. Instead, when rampant misinformation flourishes, it's the White House's fault, entirely.