You have to love media — the inveterate, noble watchdogs of society — the tireless, selfless defenders of truth and justice. From coast to coast, continent to continent, in press rooms and broadcast news studios, they finally have brought the full weight of righteous indignation and judgment against the brutish cyclist Lance Armstrong. Some of these stalwart gladiators have heroically criticized their own profession for failing to investigate more relentlessly and exposing the phony years earlier, when the gun was smoking like a 19th century locomotive. Now that this splendid liar has come clean, of course, anything he says remains fishy and insincere, undoubtedly motivated by some arcane scheme. Fear not — he’s not getting away with further manipulation. The psychologist-pundits are also out there in force, dissecting his every word and every nuance of body language, to assure that he will be forever shunned like the rare Amish prostitute. You find it all — laughable. The media fixate on the sins of an athlete who took a marginal activity from footnotes to headlines, and in the process, brought millions of people to the sport and millions of dollars to the fight against Cancer. In a sport already known for cheating, he took deception to an executive level with the expressed goal of (in his own words) “gaining a competitive advantage.” This “win at all cost” attitude is reminiscent of, ah yes, various politicians who lie, cheat and and beg for the public trust — reminiscent of a sleazy President who sullied the Oval Office, lied repeatedly and cheated on his wife and the American people — reminiscent of a pompous President who voraciously hides his past and lies routinely to gain a competitive advantage, not only over his political adversaries, but also over the lowliest slug living in the smallest American hamlet, all the while carelessly speeding this country to the edge of the cliff. Truly laughable. The media berate themselves for allowing Mr. Armstrong off the hook during his “crime spree heyday.” Yet, with respect to cheating and lying on an epic scale by our “celebrated” leaders, that very same media deliberately behave like the monkeys Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru — who respectively see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Media doubtless will argue that there’s a vast difference between an evil, capitalist athlete out for personal glory, fame, money and power compared to “public servants” like Presidents and Congressmen who sacrificially devote themselves to the public good. Evidently,  media believe cheating a few thousand cycling aficionados ranks much higher on the measure of evil than ravaging The Constitution, stealing from taxpayers and cheating generations of yet unborn Americans. The media condemn a man who for over a decade enriched advertisers, suppliers and charities; and applaud men who defraud the people, devalue their currency and diminish their country. Meanwhile, the Tour de France rolls merrily along and America slides into insolvency. Positively laughable. Armstrong’s U. S. Postal teammates and vocal family members now say he was ruthless in intimidating them to cooperate with him against their wills. Apparently, grinding up a mountain is easier than saying “no,” and walking away from a bully. Or maybe if  media dig deeply enough, they will discover Armstrong is secretly the head of an organized crime family and that his teammates were “made.” Bullies in sport and business are unforgivable. In Congress, on the other hand, kingpin Harry Reid is idolized by the media, as his Democrat “soldiers” march in lock step. At the end of a very long day, our vaunted media have honored their Code Of Ethics, assuring that Armstrong would pay a hefty price for cheating and lying — stripped of all achievements and awards, exiled from cycling, sponsor rejections, loss of his own charity, humiliated, condemned and banished. Likewise, thanks to media, the 42nd President also pays a price for cheating and lying — suffering dearly as a Hollywood celebrity, political kingmaker, media darling and spokesman for worthy causes. As for the 44th President’s  lies, deception and incompetence, the media have reached their finest hour yet — endorsing and ordaining his reelection. Funny, nobody’s laughing.