The larger problem is that even if Johnny Reporter goes digging for a bone, good luck getting it past his editors.

I think the reporters will find out, if they don’t already know, how unrestrained the side which pretended to kindness and gentleness truly is. Politico notes that:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a pointed warning to opponents of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination Wednesday, urging critics to measure their words carefully during a politically charged confirmation debate.

“I think it is probably important for anybody involved in this debate to be exceedingly careful with the way in which they’ve decided to describe different aspects of this impending confirmation,” Gibbs said.

He was replying to a question from CBS’s Chip Reid about a blog post by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich accusing Sotomayor of imposing identity politics on the bench and declaring: “A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. A Latina woman racist should also withdraw.”

That’s just a shot across the bow. If the broadsides are unleashed they will be in no doubt who’s boss.