hold page one: dick scaife endorses hillary clinton

Down is up, up is down: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has endorsed Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Pee-A Democratic primary. This is at once completely understandable and utterly unbelievable. Understandable because, with The Trib being one of the most politically conservative daily newspapers in the country, there's a cold calculation at work: On matters of policy, Clinton is clearly the lesser of two evils to right-wing wing nuts (ahem). And come November, given Obama's burgeoning status as a "rock star" candidate, The Trib no doubt figures John McCain has a better chance to beat Clinton should Clinton ultimately become the Dems' nominee. But still: Anyone who recalls Bill Clinton's presidency will remember the smear campaign against him conducted by The Trib's publisher, Richard Mellon Scaife, who financed, among other things, the notorious Arkansas Project. Anyone else recall when Hillary went on The Today Show to blast "the vast right-wing conspiracy" against her husband? Well, Dick Scaife was at the heart of all that. Sigh. Those were some days. That Scaife has now actually endorsed someone, anyone from the Clinton family has me wondering if the end of the world is nigh.