Someone Was Not Civil, Near Lanny Davis!

Stunningly awful Washington lawyer/lobbyist-cum-pundit Lanny Davis, whodemands everyone take a pledge to be civilwhile he literally does whatever X corporation pays him to do, uses his latest column in The Hill to condescendingly lecture Markos "Kos" Moulitsas about how he didn't properly apologize to a congressman for an error he made in hisowncolumn inThe Hill, recently. DoesThe Hillhave a veritable donnybrook on its hands?

Even thoughThe Hillis a newspaper, Lanny uses the opportunity to teach Kos and other bloggers about ethics and civility:

I write columns and post blogs regularly, and I’ve made my share of factual mistakes.

So I do not sit in judgment of someone who goofed. But if you make a factual mistake, there are certain rules of the road that responsible writers and bloggers should follow: (1) immediately correct the error as soon as you find out — and in the same publication; (2) if it was also a personal attack in any way, which turned out to be based on a false statement, then personally apologize — no ifs, ands or buts; and (3) learn a lesson for next time — be more careful.

These rules apply to all — not just people who are journalists for respected news organizations but, even more so, for the many bloggers who don't have a fact-checking infrastructure or editor to catch the mistakes before they hit the Internet. Even those who insist on anonymous comments on the blogosphere should care about truth and facts, but the fact that they choose anonymity to vent their spleen means they probably don't care.

YES.

Now everyone write terrible things about Lanny Davis, in the comments!

[ The Hill via Balloon Juice ]