Calls make claim

Want to take a swing at what the hed means without reading the story?

As Bush bowed out Saturday evening after a disappointing fourth-place finish in South Carolina, Murphy came under a hail of criticism on Twitter -- with adversaries mocking the lavish spending by "Right to Rise" compared with Bush's performance in the early primary states.

"Another big loser tonight: Mike Murphy," tweeted conservative commentator Erick Erickson.

One Bush bundler told CNN's Dana Bash that when it came to Murphy, "strong knives are out."

"He made minimum of $14 million," the bundler said, requesting anonymity to speak freely about campaign strategy.

The details of Murphy's compensation package at Right to Rise are not publicly known. Murphy responded to the $14-million figure by calling it, "Absolute bulls---."

There's a lot to think about besides the hed syntax. Why does CNN let a blind source make a fact claim under the guise of speaking freely about "campaign strategy"? Why is Erick Erickson considered a relevant source for anything? How does CNN make its daintifying choices, and under what circumstances does Drudge decide to dysphemize? Who's in charge of commas at CNN, anyway? But the prize still goes to "make claim."