Maureen Dowd odds and ends

As the Maureen Dowd plagiarism story continues to wind down, a few stray pieces:

• Despite Jack Shafer's splendid suggestion that Dowd offer a full accounting of what happened in today's column, she instead weighs in with an insipid imaginary conversation between Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Gah.
• Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall, whose words were appropriated without credit by Dowd in her Sunday column, says he "never thought it was intentional," and "that's pretty much the end of it."
  
• The New York Post has picked up my Guardian column on the matter. Sure, I'm getting a kick out of it. But I'm also less than thrilled to be drafted by Rupert Murdoch into his ongoing pissing match with the Sulzbergers.

Racist stupidity at the New York Post

Sean Delonas' cartoon in today's New York Post may not be racist in intent, but it is racist in effect. How anyone — Delonas and his editors — could be unaware of the way African-Americans have historically been compared to apes in order to diminish them is beyond me.

Eric Deggans offers some insights for the St. Petersburg Times, and was especially good earlier today on NPR's "All Things Considered." And Romenesko rounds up coverage.

Update: Jon Keller agrees.

Why Caroline Kennedy dropped out

Looks like the truth is starting to come out about Caroline Kennedy's now-ended bid for the Senate. The New York Post reports that Gov. David Paterson is letting it be known through an unnamed spokesman that he never intended to choose her. Among other things, it appears that she may have tax and nanny problems.

The New York Times is catching up, but according to the Politico's Glenn Thrush, the Post is "lead sled dog on the Caroline exit fiasco." No gold star for the Post, though, as it adds some entirely unsupported sleaze to the mix.

Accurate, but almost certainly not true

If the New York Times doesn't want to run with something it can't confirm, I've got no problem with that. Still, it's a little unsettling to see the paper go with the patently ludicrous explanation from "a person told of her decision" that Caroline Kennedy is dropping out of the running for the U.S. Senate because of Ted Kennedy's illness.

The New York Post, citing anonymous sources, reports that Kennedy withdrew after she learned that New York Gov. David Paterson wasn't going to pick her.

Ted Kennedy has been fighting terminal brain cancer for months. His seizure yesterday, while scary, changes nothing.

It's been obvious for some time now that Caroline Kennedy wasn't going to the Senate. I guess her uncle's health problems gave her a graceful exit. But that doesn't mean the Times has to play along.

Murdoch sends a message. But what is it?

This front page is too weird for me to be sure, but I think Rupe's sticking up for Obama. Here's the story.

Priceless

This is why New York Post editors make the big bucks.

Update: Give that reader a prize. I missed this last night, but it came from Richard, who suggested "HO NO! SAY IT AIN'T SO!" (Thanks to Jeff Inglis.)

Citizen journalism (?) and Spitzer

The ever-classy New York Post is letting its readers write headlines for the Eliot Spitzer story. A sampling:

• HYPO-QUIT!!!!
• The "Emperor" Has No Clothes!
• ELIOT MESS!
• Love Potion for Client #9

Those last two aren't bad. But I'll bet the Post itself comes up with something better for tomorrow's edition.