Big kudos to Washington Post

For its editorial condemning the NARAL ad smearing (their word) Judge Roberts.

Way to raise the quality of the debate, folks.

UPDATE: The New York Times puts the editorial into perspective:

The advertisement had prompted intense criticism from Republicans, a handful of Democrats, an independent watchdog group called Factcheck.org, and even some supporters of abortion rights, who said they felt it was hurting their cause. Mr. Specter made that argument in his letter to Ms. Keenan.

The senator wrote, "When Naral puts on such an advertisement, in my opinion it undercuts its credibility and injures the pro-choice cause."

Some prominent Democrats said they agreed with Mr. Specter. Lanny Davis, a top official in the Clinton administration, said in an interview Thursday that he had been making phone calls to liberal advocacy groups urging them to denounce the advertisement, which he called "inaccurate, filled with innuendo and shameless."

NARAL's ad was so extreme, and the alternative media were so on top of it, that it was undermining the credibility of the pro-abortion cause.

I still say good on the Washington Post, but I'm waiting see whether principle indeed rules over partisanship in the mainstream media.