Atrios talks about Larry Flynt's plans to publicize the abortion the President paid for, comparing it to Matt Drudge's Kerry adultery thing:

I'd also like the media to consider one thing - compare Flynt's batting average with Drudge's. While the media will jump to condemn Flynt, they should recognize that Flynt has higher journalistic standards than any of them for this kind of thing. He doesn't run with things until he has multiple sources. This story may or may not be true, but frankly I have a lot more faith in the accuracy of Flynt's reporting than I do in a lot of the mainstream press. The recent week has only re-confirmed that.

Let's remember that Drudge first became a celebrity not because of Monica, but because he falsely accused Sidney Blumenthal of beating his wife. And the media sided with Drudge.

I agree with Atrios completely, but he does overlook one obvious point:

Matt Drudge rakes muck for a living. Larry Flynt prints smut for a living. One publishes stories so incendiary and false, liberals cringe. One publishes photos so anatomically explicit, gynecologists cringe.

Yes, journalists should have -- I can't believe I'm about to use this phrase -- the high standards of Larry Flynt. However, the headline in the New York Times will not be "President Paid for Abortion." The headline will be, "Pornographer Accuses President of Paying for Abortion."

I'm don't think Atrios is arguing that the story should sprout some legs. I don't think it should, either, as I hate seeing this sort of gossip invade political discourse. (Military records are fair game, genitals are not). What I'm saying is that this story probably never achieve great heights -- the reporter is the story, and the story itself will be drowned by that.

Or maybe the story will get huge. Bill O'Reilly would love to scream at a paraplegic pornographer. Bill Bennett could do some appearances denouncing smut and muckraking (muckraking that's aimed at conservatives, that is). Countdown makes it #5. Then it's on all the news stations, the late night hosts make jokes about it, The Daily Show does an entire piece on it, blah-blah-blah. Whether or not Larry Flynt's name is permanently attached to the story, the point is the story is out there, and Flynt knows that.

Part of me says that the public is not beyond being educated to learn that blowjobs and adulterous affairs and abortions say nothing of a candidate's ability of lead. And part of me says God bless Larry Flynt for playing the same game as the Republicans. Serves them right, after all.

I certainly hope that one day, this game will never have to be played like this. All I'll ever have is hope.