New York Times decides to call a lie a lie, and its Trump coverage may never be the same

This is a promising development:

In at least five articles in the New York Times on Sept. 17, including the lead story in the print edition, the words “lie,” “false,” “falsely claimed” and “untrue” appeared in headlines, lead paragraphs, and top sections of the paper’s Trump coverage.

Despite public editor Liz Spayd’s recent insistence that there wasn't a problem and the only reason anyone might suggest there was something different about Donald Trump as a candidate was that they were a dirty ideologue, it’s now New York Times policy to be that little bit more blunt about what’s really going on:

“I think our investigative work—see [the Sept. 17] story on Trump’s tax breaks—has always been hard hitting,” says Dean Baquet, the New York Times’ executive editor. “But we have decided to be more direct in calling things out when a candidate actually lies.” [...]

Says Baquet, “The birther issue represents, well, outright lying. And he lied over a long period. It is a real word and we will use it when warranted.”

It shouldn’t be a major innovation in reporting to call a lie a lie, but it’s welcome. An even better development would be a daily headline and story like this one from the Toronto Star: Donald Trump said 12 false things on Saturday. Can you imagine if every time he spoke publicly, the public then got a simple, clear count of how much he lied to or misled them? And can you imagine the count he’ll rack up on debate days?

49 days remain until the election. Click here to make sure you're registered to vote. And while you're at it, make sure your family and friends are registered too.