Go away or I shall taunt you again

Hey, see if you can guess what the favorite verb over to the Fair-n-Balanced Network was today?

Rev. Wright Taunts Journalists, Blasts Government
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright grabbed the spotlight for the fourth day in a row Monday with a taunting and mocking speech that once again cast a shadow on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Sigh. You can have all sorts of fun with Fox's coverage of the Wright events, down to and including this rant from the "executive" "vice" "president" for "news." But that would end up obscuring the ultimate point, which is that Jeremiah Wright really isn't a pertinent political story. In a way, that's a shame. On the (plenteous) evidence, Wright is strikingly witty, adept at improvising, well read, and not inclined to take much in the way of stick from anybody. (Come on, NPR listeners; wouldn't you rather listen to his analysis than Cokie Roberts'?) But he's right. He isn't running for office, so it's about time to ring down the curtain and return to the folks who are.

Should you want to persist, though, I have a suggestion (and it's a framing suggestion, so you know it's methodologically sound). Every time you see a phrase like "embattled pastor" or "controversial pastor" introducing Wright on first reference, try replacing it with "former Marine." (It'll work with appositives on second reference too.)

Really. Try it. Framing isn't an accident, and it isn't a reflection of some impartial reality toward which we bow. It's a series of deliberate choices. Why not make them sensible ones?