"Battlespace Preparation"

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit writes that what's going on with the anti-Limbaugh and O'Reilly campaigns is "battlespace preparation...to limit the ability of people like Limbaugh or O'Reilly to drive stories in the mainstream news as we get closer to the election. Expect more of this, with more targets."

Noel Shepperd writes at NewsBusters about the connection of Media Matters, which has started the smear campaigns, with the Clinton Campaign.

Rush Limbaugh's site warns that House Democrats intend to introduce a resolution against him on Monday...apparently the Democrats want to play tit for tat since they are still smarting over the firestorm surrounding the "General Betray-Us" ad.

Hugh Hewitt: "Because of its attack on General Petraeus, the MoveOn.org brand is badly damaged where it matters most --Americans who deeply esteem the military, which is the great majority of Americans. The attempt to label Rush as other than the great supporter of the military that he is is a transparent and desperate attempt to create a counter-scandal."

John Hinderaker at Power Line: "Media Matters knows that anyone who looks into its charges will know that they are bogus. But that's almost beside the point. Their objective (i.e., the Clintons' objective) is to arm fellow-liberal mainstream media outlets with excuses to ignore Limbaugh ('He insulted the troops!') and O'Reilly ('He's a racist!') as the election approaches. It's all about putting Bill Clinton back in the White House."

More analysis from Michelle Malkin.

What's astounding -- but I supposed shouldn't be -- is that rather than putting a stop to the nutty attacks on O'Reilly and Limbaugh by reporting the facts, networks like CNN have instead been stoking the fires and encouraging the crazies. Liberal politicians then respond to the false stories, the media covers their responses, and on and on the stories spin. The behavior of some in the media has been almost Orwellian, disregarding the facts and deliberately misleading the public.