A fight Newsbusters probably shouldn't pick ...

Newsbusters' Michael Bates is upset about a reader comment on a Washington Post blog: “If the Washington Post doesn't moderate its blogs, it might want to give serious consideration to doing so. In this Golden Age of Obama, his backers obviously feel free to coarsely express their opinions no matter how despicable.”

In the comments section of his own post, Bates left no ambiguity about his position: “I believe The Washington Post should police its blogs, and that was the point of the post.”

So naturally I wondered how Bates polices reader comments on his blog posts.

Newsbusters' Michael Bates is upset about a reader comment on a Washington Post blog:

If the Washington Post doesn't moderate its blogs, it might want to give serious consideration to doing so. In this Golden Age of Obama, his backers obviously feel free to coarsely express their opinions no matter how despicable.

In the comments section of his own post, Bates left no ambiguity about his position: “I believe The Washington Post should police its blogs, and that was the point of the post.”

So naturally I wondered how Bates polices reader comments on his blog posts.

Here are some reader comments on Bates' February 22 post about a Chicago Sun-Times profile of Michelle Obama:

Bates was an active participant in that comment thread. He even replied to the comment calling Michelle Obama a “hag” -- though he didn't object to the name-calling.

Here's a comment from a Bates post about CNN's Campbell Brown:

And here's how Bates - who is upset that Obama backers “coarsely express their opinion” -- policed that comment:

Finally, here's a reader comment from a Bates post about pay inequality: