The Scooter Libby perjury trial is about to go to the jury so there could be a verdict shortly. I have no idea what it might be. Sometimes, you can formulate a hunch based on the press coverage…but this time, the mainstream media has reported very little that would suggest how it's going or how it might go.
The exhaustive, in-depth coverage has mostly been from bloggers and/or via news sources that few would argue are not highly partisan. I've read some of the reporting from both sides and I don't think these people are all covering the same trial. I know these sites skew the news, possibly as a conscious, deliberate policy. As we keep saying here, there's money to be made telling some people what they want to hear, whether it's true or not.
But I can't recall the last instance of reporting that was this Rashomon. The sites that could be said to be Liberal are saying that an airtight case has been made for Libby's guilt. He'll be convicted of something and it may lead to Cheney. The more Conservative coverage says there's no "there" there; that the case is close to non-existent and should never have been brought.
Someone's going to be spectacularly wrong, at least about how the jury will decide. (This should not be confused with how the jury should decide. Remember the first O.J. case.) I'm just amazed that I can't find any reporting that delves deep into the case and finds both strengths and weaknesses in the assertions of both sides. And I'm wondering if that's because the case really is that lopsided in one direction…or if it's because reporters just don't do Fair and Balanced anymore.