One of the most depressing aspects of modern journalism is the perversion of the idea of "balance." This even shows up in opinion columns, which is rather weird. According to this theory of balance, if one side has done something bad, then the other side must have as well, and the writer has to make mention of that.

Leaving aside the fact that one side may, in the course of events, have more bad actors than the other, this is still a pretty silly idea of balance. A prime example of this was in last Saturday's Telegraph editorial page in a column by TV host and writer Bonnie Erbe.

She was talking about some of the tarnished female officeholders in the current administration. She pointed to the case of Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord. Though she's in charge of the agency that is supposed to see that such things as imported toys are safe, she has opposed a Congressional initiative to increase her agency's budget and tighten standards. In addition, she has accepted some $60,000 in travel and accommodations from the very toy industry that her agency is supposed to regulate. Erbe also mentions General Services Administration Administrator Laurita Doan, who has been investigated on charges of engaging in partisan political activity while on official time, which is prohibited by the Hatch Act.

All well and good, except that Erbe has to add: "And to be bipartisan about this, we all know Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was tinged by scandal during her time as first lady in the White House via associations with the Whitewater and 'travelgate' scandals." 

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