You would think that the nation's most prominent media critic would know that quoting a politician accusing someone of dishonesty without noting that the allegation is false, or even including a response to the allegation, is, uh, terrible journalism. But Howard Kurtz apparently doesn't know that:

The LAT says Kagan “was accused of shading the truth about her role in a controversy over military recruiters at Harvard University. 'The overall picture that she portrayed of the situation seems to me to be disconnected to the reality,' Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the panel, said after an extended spat with Kagan. 'I believe that's a serious matter.' Sessions also said that she was not 'rigorously accurate' and that he expected 'intellectual honesty' from prospective justices.”

But that issue had already been thoroughly aired, so, in purely political terms, there were no real surprises.

On the topic in question -- military recruiting at Harvard Law while Kagan was Dean -- Kagan has told the truth. Sessions charge is false. But even if a journalist somehow doesn't know that -- and they should, as this is not a new issue -- surely one of the most basic things any journalist knows is that they shouldn't print one person calling another a liar without providing a response or an assessment of the validity of the accusation, right? And, again, Howard Kurtz is a professional media critic. He's paid to comment on journalism, and point out flaws in the work of other journalists -- and here he is, committing one of the most basic sins a journalist can commit.

Oh, and check out this Deep Thought that Kurtz leads off today's column with:

I knew that Elena Kagan's first day of Senate questioning was receding on the media radar as I saw less and less of her -- except as a visual backdrop -- and more and more of John King and Candy Crowley, Bret Baier and Chris Matthews.

Got that? Kurtz knew the media was paying less attention to Kagan when he saw less of Kagan on television. You can always count on Howard Kurtz for keen insights like that.