Spin City

John McIntyre, over at the RCP Blog, notes all the various headlines describing the exact same events as the bad political theater over non-binding resolutions plays out in the Senate. It is instructive:

Washington Post – Senate Democrats Split on Measure Opposing Bush

Wall Street Journal – Bush Senate Allies to Seek Iraq Benchmarks

New York Times – Compromise Senate Measure Rebuffing Bush's Iraq Buildup Gathers Support

Washington Times – Majority in Senate Support 'Stay the Course' Resolution

The Washington Post and the WSJ headlines hit closest to describing what is really going on behind the scenes. The New York Times tries to spin the recent Democrat movement "toward GOP positions" – which is how the Washington Post reports recent development — as (surprise) anti-Bush. The worst of the bunch is the Washington Times, which makes a laughable effort to spin the Senate as getting behind a "stay the course" resolution.

McIntyre's conclusion? The so-called political advantage the Democrats hoped to get out of all this theater may backfire. He could well be right. The Senate may be fascinated by this kind of political game show behavior, but voters will end up being repulsed by it all.