Jill Zuckman, on MSNBC, about the McCain campaign's “lipstick on a pig” lie: “Even if we all think the charge may be a little bit flimsy, they have got all of us talking about it.”

First, the charge isn't “a little bit flimsy,” it's a lie.

Second: Reporters don't have to play along with this nonsense. They can refuse to report the McCain camp's false attacks. Or they can use their coverage to make clear that this is the latest in a long line of false smears from McCain, and indicative of the kind of campaign he is running, rather than pretending there is some open question about whether Obama called Sarah Palin a pig, or behaving as though the important question is “will the attack work” rather than “what does the lie say about the person telling the lie.”