It is Easier for a Camel to Enter the Eye of a Needle Than for a Rich Man to Be a Good Journalist

Think Progress reports that MSNBC rock-star Chris Matthews defended Tom DeLay (who stepped down as House majority leader) by saying he "really lives basically, like a regular middle-class person. He doesn't live well at all."

Here are facts about DeLay's lifestyle:

"As Tom DeLay became a king of campaign fund-raising, he lived like one, too. He visited cliff-top Caribbean resorts, golf courses designed by PGA champions and four-star restaurants, all courtesy of donors who bankrolled his political money empire...

"Public documents reviewed by the Associated Press tell the story: At least 48 visits to golf clubs and resorts; 100 flights aboard company planes; 200 stays at hotels, many world-class; and 500 meals at restaurants, some averaging nearly $200 for a dinner for two."

Of course, that's probably not too different from how Matthews lives these days -- so to him, that's probably middle class.

Don't like Matthews? Well then, you can always tune into that other Man of the People, Anderson Cooper -- you know, the son of "middle class" Gloria Vanderbilt.

Or -- if you're looking for really tough reporting -- you can wait for that gadfly Bob Woodward to leave the cozy confines of his mansion and take a limo to the White House to ask penetrating questions of the President ... right?

Seriously: Are these the people we want to speak truth to power?

Guess they have the benefit of being able to practice in the mirror.

More links and info at Media Orchard.