This breaking article, Message Machine by David Barstow, is a must-read.
The substance of the story is a massive reveal of the Bush Administration's coordinated Pentagon campaign to use ostensibly "impartial and trusted" retired generals to push Pentagon talking points.
To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.
Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
It's an 11-page article, but worth every page. It's hard to be shocked by what our current administration has done. The article also exposes how the lobbying culture of Washington has created shocking conflicts of interest. I happen to support Sen. Obama, and the details of this sordid story only put his call for a more open and honest government under a stronger light.