Unfreakin' believable

Apparently the Dome has now devolved into the latest "go to" source for the marital status of a given public figure.

When questioned as to the purpose of posting this "news item," Dome's response was so lame that another (well known) regular commenter noted that he was seeking a means of wrapping his fish with the post.

I look forward to finding out how the marital status of this latest victim of what passes for news is supposed to have meaningful bearing on his suitability to hold office. Surely, as with the Edwards story, we're about to find out that something truly significant to public interest is associated with this "news."

What still puzzles me a bit about the Edwards coverage is the way it emerged. I think many of us rightly wondered what the public interest was when the headlines first broke their way through the major media outlets. Only after a slow motions build-up did we get the bits and pieces that explain what made the story newsworthy. After many, many newspaper sales later, those of us who originally questioned the newsworthiness of the story were eventually put in our place for doing so.

But what also became clear was that reporters had earlier insights into the news-to-come than the early headlines indicated. It was almost as though the freakin' story was a strip-tease.

So now, one wonders, is that what's happening here, or is this just going to be a lot more buzz that tantalizes and sells copy (or attracts hits), after which we find that 1) no, it's none of our damned business or 2) the public official in question has been engaged in various nefarious activities that pose great detriment to society and its mores and finally led to a break with his/her spouse.

We don't know. Just as reporters knew more than they divulged in their early "tease" stories on Edwards, they might be doing the same here, or they might be simply exploiting the fact that we are expecting more here.

But if the real answer is what Bill Krueger just said it was on DOME ("our readers are interested"), then while we're at it, let's ask revive the old tradition of asking a candidate what church he or she attends, and let's ask whether the candidate displays a flag on the appropriate holidays, whether he or she prefers cars made in America, whether he or she buys girl scout cookies, and what his or her zodiac sign is.