Sometimes people make the most profound statements when, in fact, they intend to say quite the opposite.

I'm guessing that Tina Brown intended to pen a pithy commentary in her Washington Post piece. That isn't how I read it, though.

Treat yourself to the rambling writing in all its glory. Soak it in. Then ask yourself if Ms. Brown put her writing talents to their greatest use. I'm still processing the thrust of the article, but I think it might be one of the following: Condi's "rock star persona"; a comparison of Condoleezza Rice's, Hillary Clinton's, and Madeleine Albright's public image; thoughts about political correctness and risk taking.

It really doesn't matter which was her target; all are profoundly irrelevant.

"The Condi Style boomlet, however, will probably be short-lived. Madeleine Albright got a similar honeymoon when fashion writers burbled about those lapel pins of hers that were the size of small countries. To hold the public's attention for the long haul you have to display the hint of a character flaw that suggests a bubbling subtext or a possible fall from grace. "

Ms. Brown isn't discussing the issues, nor is she discussing the horse race. She is talking about the people talking about the horse race. She isn't Nero, nor the person trying to extinguish the flames around the Circus Maximus. She is the person making fun of the silly sandals worn by the firefighters.

"Even the rats themselves have to look over their shoulders, because some smaller rat is always waiting in the wings. Bloggers are the new Stasi. All the timidity this engenders, all this watching your mouth has started to feel positively un-American."

Bloggers aren't the new Stasi. Bloggers are doing the job that the "bored" White House correspondents should be doing. Citizen journalists are researching the facts and asking the hard questions. And they are doing this while full-time journalists are filing stories about the lapel pins Madeleine Albright used to wear.

Given the hard right's willingness to use fear, ignorance, hatred, and polarizing issues, and given the press' complicity with the plan, rather than calling bloggers the new Stasi, Ms. Brown should consider whether she has become one of Goebbels' copywriters.