When Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race in June we thought one of the benefits would be that readers would be spared reading Patrick ("Cackle") Healy's tortured campaign reporting on Clinton. Alas, he's still hacking away. Today, Healy adopts the latest Beltway media critique that Clinton just isn't going after Sarah Palin hard enough on the campaign trail. (Did we miss something or is Clinton suddenly on the Dem ticket?)

The Times headline reads, “Clinton Stumps for Obama, but With Little Fire at Palin.” But in the piece Healy concedes “The absence of heavy fire directed at Ms. Palin had been expected.” So why is this news, other than the Times, and Healy, pushing a not-so-subtle Clinton dig?