Unbelievable

Sex sells.

Just when I thought there was nothing mainstream media pundits could do to make themselves less relevant, I stumble upon (no, not that way, through Memeorandum) this headline at ABC's blotter:

Hillary Was in White House on 'Stained Blue Dress' Day

And this 1990s incident is relevant to today's campaign... how? Read on, it gets better. Here's the sub-head, emphasis added:

Schedules Reviewed by ABC Show Hillary May Have Been in the White House When the Fateful Act Was Committed

The non-story is even MORE of a non-story. And this isn't your run of the mill blogger. This is the ABC news investigative team. No, I'm not being sarcastic.

So ABC chums for readers in a Drudge-light manner. They get to unearth old file photos of Monica. For what reason? Sex sells.

This is mainstream political reporting in America in 2008 ... with the economy in tatters, with the fifth anniversary of a protracted war that has no end in sight (second longest military campaign to Vietnam), with Congress and President Bush sparring over telecomm immunity, with basic food prices skyrocketing ... ABC's crack investigative team pours through thousands of pages of documents, looking for one tell-tale date.

You'll never convince me that Brian Ross et al did not have all the possible salacious dates outlined, ready for a match. I have no doubt that if Hillary Clinton had been out of the country, we'd have seen that headline instead. Because it's not the maybe-being-in-the-Whitehouse that's news. It's the let's-play-a-game-of-catchya.

The fourth estate is a political actor with a key role in framing the political discourse: what gets said and how it's said. If you didn't believe that before, you must believe it now.

Susie Madrak provides Brian's phone number and suggests you call him: 212-456-7612. His email address is supposedly Brian.E.Ross@email.disney.com

If you own Disney stock, consider selling. After all, they own ABC. If you think the concentration in media ownership is a problem, tell the FCC. After all, they're the group that relaxes the ownership strings.

More from Glen Greenwald. And AP is no better than ABC.