What’s happening with the FISA electronic surveillance bill is The Story of Washington politics in general and of Bush-era politics in particular. It’s what has been going on for eight long years—the idiot doublespeak, the pretend threats, the corporate cronyism, the shrinking enabling Democrats and the muddled craven press corps. For a more full explanation, if you think have the stomach for it, watch Keith Olberman’s justified rant from last night, which was available almost immediately at YouTube, presently the nation’s best, most eclectic, mainstream broadcast news service.

Update: This gem comes via Yahoo News in a piece about recent “defections” in the diplomatic corps from Bush Administration foreign policy dictates:

“U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad violated Washington’s long-standing policy on contact with officials from the government of Iran by appearing on stage in Davos, Switzerland, with the Iranian foreign minister… Administration Officials claimed they learned of [Khalilzad's policy violation] only after video of the event was posted on YouTube.”

I guess if you don’t know which end is up in general and can’t find what you need to know by illegally combing through the nation’s personal electronic communications, you can always turn to YouTube.