RAINES MISSILE INCOMING

The New York Times has commissioned another piece designed to attack the administration’s journalistic supporters. The first, by Jim Rutenberg, was an attempt to gloat over conservatives’ alleged belief that this war would be a “cakewalk.” (I wonder if the Times would ever ever run a piece about those journalists who recently claimed that a “quagmire” was imminent.) The second by David Carr is designed to portray non-lefty journalists as stooges of the administration. It’ll probably appear tomorrow. Carr’s scoop is that yesterday, a bunch of us hacks had lunch with Karl Rove at a public restaurant in downtown DC. Organized by National Review’s Kate O’Beirne, these off-the-record lunches are regular events, and, although no material can be used, they are a good way to sense the mood in the administration, ask tough questions, talk candidly and so on. Most political magazines organize such lunches – at The New Republic, we used to have them all the time. In fact, such off-the-record lunches with senior politicians are a Washington fixture. But watch the Raines spin. Just a heads-up.