Saying the public is increasingly forced to turn to blogs for "the real story," Zachary Roth writes about how the press too readily bought the line that Sanford was simply on the Appalachian Trail.

Read more stories on this subject in our Mark Sanford topic page.He writes, in part:

Too often, though, the press treats public statements from elected officials' offices -- especially those purporting simply to provide information, like the Appalachian Trail line -- as self-evidently accurate. It's as if, despite everything, some in the press can't quite bring themselves to believe that politicians might try to mislead people.

Go read the whole thing at Talking Points Memo.