He said, she said

Here's an example of the he said/she said approach to journalism, and why it works in the Republicans favor:

Iraq has dominated debate this fall on Capitol Hill with accusations being tossed around almost daily.

Democrats accuse Bush of misleading the United States into war and of failing to be candid about the current situation in Iraq. Republicans assert that Democrats are emboldening U.S. enemies with a "cut-and-run strategy."

"One side uses the word lie, the other side implies treason," said Jamieson, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Note: Democrats claim that Bush hasn't been candid, which is unquestionably true, and is not something that people get placed in front of a firing squad for. But the Republicans accuse the Democrats of (ready?) TREASON, and EMBOLDENING OUR ENEMIES, which is extreme rhetoric, obviously horseshit, and which people DO get placed in front of a firing squad for.

The press treats the two as though they had equal validity, and were equally divisive.

And the Republicans know that the press will do that.