McBride's gossip matters

Capper points out that Jessica McBride has no problem passing along (or making readers aware) of unsubstantiated rumor, inuendo and gossip about Democrats or outgoing Republican senators despised by the right.

But in comments in a post at her blog about Obama telling high school kids he had used cocaine, McBride actually pretends to have standards. Challenged on what she thinks about Bush's alleged -- and never denied -- cocaine use, McBride replies:

How do I feel about Bush and his "cocaine use"? I will weigh in on it when it's proven. I don't steadfastly believe he didn't do it, but I haven't seen any evidence, either. Obama admitted it. Big difference.

Drawing the line!

As a side note, McBride -- unlike Giuliani -- condemns Obama for admitting something he's admitted previously (although if he had just smoked pot, she'd have been cool with that). Read with awe this sentence in which McBride explains how Obama is secretly telling kids it's OK to do coke -- maybe he's sending semaphore via rapid movement of his eyelids:

I acknowledge Obama's encouraging them NOT to do it, but I think his drug confession tacitly tells them it's OK TO do it because the penalty will not be too high, and you can go on to run for president and be a media star even if you do. So, I think he should have kept his mouth shut in front of the kids.

Ponder: Jessica McBride (who entered this topic four full days after Sykes broached it on his radio show) teaches journalism at UW-M.