Lame Newsbusters media criticism of the day:

USA Today Spins Liberal Lincoln Chafee as a 'Centrist' and a 'Moderate'

By Scott Whitlock (Bio | Archive)

Tue, 07/06/2010 - 11:14 ET

According to USA Today's Susan Page, Lincoln Chafee, a Republican who left the party and voted for Barack Obama in 2008, is simply a “moderate.”

A cover story for Tuesday's print edition of the paper featured the misleading sub-headline: “Centrists Fuel Big Crop of Contenders This Year.” Nowhere in the 1800 word piece did Page describe Chafee as a liberal.

Gee, I wonder why USA Today thinks Lincoln Chafee is a “moderate”? Maybe Lincoln Chafee's voting record had something to do with it? During the 109th Senate -- Chafee's last -- he had the 47th most-liberal voting record, placing him almost precisely at the midpoint of the 100 Senators. In the 108th, he had the 49th most-liberal voting record. And in the 107th, Chafee had the 51st most-liberal voting record.

But Scott Whitlock thinks that because Lincoln Chafee -- along with more than half the country -- voted for Barack Obama, he can't be a moderate.

And for some reason, the Washington Post's ombudsman takes these clowns seriously.