Somewhere Around Barstow When The Drivel Began To Take Hold

The following may be, in terms of self-parody, the ne plus ultra of column leads:

The night before the announcement of Saddam's capture (round about the time that the tyrant was having a flashlight shone up his nose) I was at a media-heavy Manhattan dinner party that vividly dramatized the pre-spider hole mood. The guests -- mostly Democrats, with a smattering of moderate Republicans -- were unanimously kissing off Bush. -- Tina Brown in today's Washington Post