Crossing the Line on a Cable Show?

(Msnbc's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann")

If Post editors insist he is not an opinion columnist, then Milbank ought to drop the funny hats and stay away from comedy shows.

That said, I often enjoy Milbank's eye on the Washington scene. He is at his best when going to an important event as an astute observer.

He does sometimes cross the line into commentary -- in an Oct. 12 column, he counted how many times President Bush blinked during a television interview, and in a Nov. 3 column he frequently referred to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's rumpled clothes and personal awkwardness. Both columns seemed like put-downs. On Jan. 27, he wrote that President Bush gave a "Bourbonic performance" at a news conference.

But I loved his Feb. 1 column about watching Supreme Court justices decide whether to clap, sit or stand during the State of the Union address. And writing about a Jan. 25 hearing on lobbying reform, he followed quotations of senators with mentions of how much money they had received from lobbyists in recent years. Cleverly done.

Most of the critical mail I got last week came from conservatives, but I've also received complaints from liberals when they think Milbank has skewered Democrats, especially in a Jan. 31 column about a liberal political event that featured former attorney general Ramsey Clark and antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan.

Milbank said, "More of my targets are Republicans than Democrats: that's because Republicans control the White House and Congress."

Milbank has his fans. Reader Patrick Sprouse of McLean wrote: "I watch Keith Olbermann's show regularly and the rapport [between] Dana and Keith is great. Olbermann's show often incorporates humor . . . and it's great to see The Washington Post has not lost its sense of humor either! Stand firmly behind great reporters like Dana Milbank, who work hard at speaking truth to power, and aren't afraid of the 'shells' that are fired from both sides of the political spectrum!"

It all comes down to what Stephen Stanford of Saltillo, Miss., wrote: "If you are going to keep using his work, how about labeling it as opinion and not news?"

Exactly.

Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or atombudsman@washpost.com.