Today’s Washington Post features a Howard Kurtz story under the headline “Bush’s Health Care Ads Not Entirely Accurate.” You think? It’s right up there with the headline on Dana Milbank’s 2002 article “For Bush, Facts Are Malleable”. What are the editors so afraid of? And this is from the Post, which has been the most consistent critic of Bush’s dishonesty in the national press (see the conclusion of All the President’s Spin). With this sort of punch-pulling, it’s no wonder politicians don’t pay a significant penalty for deception.

Update (10/17): Post ombudsman Michael Getler criticizes the paper today for its wimpy fact-check headlines and ledes, though he’s much too gentle.