The New York Observer called CBS "newsman" Bill Plante to ask him about his comment after the announcement of the departure of Karl Rove (which I lambasted earlier, with video): "If he’s so smart, how come you lost Congress?"

Plante's explanation:

Reached by phone at his home in Washington D.C. on Monday night, Mr. Plante said he wasn’t surprised by the attention. What people should understand, he said, was that the question was of less importance than the principle.

“Here’s the point,” said Mr. Plante. “It’s important that we ask questions even if some people don’t believe that they’re appropriate. They don’t have to answer them. But we have to ask them. Did I have to ask that question? That’s a point of legitimate argument.”

Is this "the narrative was right but the facts were wrong" all over again?

It's the principle, says Plante.

Let's try this for Mr. Plante. Plante: how are those ED drugs working for you? Which one works best? How about those Depends undergarments? How many of those do you need a day?

It's the principle that we should be able to ask professional journalists these questions. Are these questions appropriate? We can have a debate about that issue, but we need to be able to ask these types of questions.

By Plante's logic, nothing is beyond the pale -- and that's bad for "professional" journalists and journalism. Thanks for the extra two or three point drop in public esteem for journalists, Mr. Plante. You did it all by yourself.