Editorial: Fair and balanced?

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

Fox News is so much in love with its "fair and balanced" slogan that it last year claimed it was trademarked for the channel's exclusive use. That was laughed out of court. Now some of its stories are obvious laughingstocks.

Jim Angle, a Fox News White House correspondent, last week "broke" the story of how Richard Clarke back in August 2002 spoke approvingly of President Bush's anti-terrorism efforts during an off-the-record White House briefing. Clarke, of course, is in the news now for his new book, whose general theme is that Bush was asleep at the switch while al-Qaida planned and carried out its attacks on Sept. 11.

Such briefings, often called "backgrounders," are used by the White House to spin the news its way on multiple issues. Any White House official familiar with the topic at hand is apt to be chosen to lead the backgrounder. That day it was Clarke's turn. He was Bush's top anti-terrorism adviser, the type of senior-level White House aide that reporters expect at such briefings. Did anyone there expect Clarke to be giving anything other than the administration's spin?

When Angle asked the White House for permission to air the tape of the briefing he had made that day, permission was quickly granted -- an extreme rarity for a backgrounder. The real story here is that the Bush White House is resorting to such personal attacks on Clarke, rather than the issues raised by the book. And that's not funny.