Defense: blame the messenger, try to
shift the focus from the crime to the press that reports it.
At the end of each episode of Scooby
Doo, the villain always says, “and I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling
kids
... and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling
press reporters says
Clinton to
Matt Drudge
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has excoriated NewsWeek for reporting on a Qu'ran being flushed down a toilet in Guantanamo. Translation: "and we would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling Newsweek guys"