RANDOM NOTES

Robert Palmer is dead at age 54.

Rep. Barney is trying on a new role--voice of reason.

Wesley the Pooh--the candidate stuffed with fluff--was apparently little more than a coathanger during yesterday's Democrat debate. It was pile on Howard time!

And I actually saw a balanced story about a recent bombing in Iraq. NBC News HQ got bombed, killing a security guard. After showing the damage and telling viewers a little bit about the man who died (and he sounded like a very decent man), MSNBC's Bob Arnott proceeded to go on at length about how stories about bombings tend to overshadow all the good news that's going on around Iraq. He talked about rebuilt schools and re-opened hospitals--already more operational hospitals in post-war Iraq than during Saddam's days--and provided some nice balance to what was a sad story about a pro-American Iraqi who died at the hands of terrorists. We are making a difference by pushing the media to balance their reporting. The big media is getting the message.