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Research is hard!

Authenticity is under attack.

There was a time when nothing was deemed more important in presidential politics. I can recall a Newsweek cover in early 2000, featuring Bill Bradley and John McCain, and waxing lyrical about the politics of authenticity. These men were the genuine article, unafraid to say what they think, mavericks taking on their own parties.

You can recall? The country's pre-eminent media critic can recall? How about actually doing a modicum of work to figure out what the headline said and then determine exactly when the article came out. No, that's probably too much exertion for Howard Kurtz -- after all, it's not like Newsweek and the Washington Post are sister companies and Mr. Kurtz could ask someone -- anyone! -- at Newsweek: "Hey, remember that cover in early 2000 with Bradley and McCain on the cover?"

But if he's scared of picking up that phone and dialing, there are other methods.

Hey, look what I found! A scan of a Newsweek edition that included Bradley and McCain on the cover. It reads: "Straight Shooters: How Bradley and McCain are Scoring with the Politics of Authenticity." But it wasn't in 2000. It was Nov. 15, 1999. It took approximately 30 seconds of Googling for me to figure this out, using the search terms "Cover Newsweek Bradley McCain."

That wasn't so hard, now was it, Mr. Kurtz?