They only know one way to tell a war story.(Beat the Press)

There are few spectacles that delight the establishment media more than a good old-fashioned protest march--and none more than a war protest. It's a feast for their senses in particular: the metronomic slogan chants, the sparkle of the tie-dye, the familiar smell of controlled substances wafting through the air. All this brings baby-boomer reporters and editors back to a better time, before blogs, talk radio, and FOX News, when the establishment media still wielded monopoly power, and could topple both a war effort and a sitting President.

So when a horde of '60s retreads, anarchists, and committed Bush-haters gathered in Washington this fall to protest the war in Iraq--in the final seconds of Cindy Sheehan's 15 minutes of fame--it was all groovy as far as the media were concerned.

To hear the press tell it, this was no lefty reunion. It was the voice of the people. The crowd was "diverse" full of solid citizens awakened from political apathy by the wicked Bush administration, part of a burgeoning movement against war, meanness, and men who kick dogs.

"The protest drew a broad cross section of young and old, veteran activists and first-timers," gushed the Washington Post. The Boston Globe chimed in, suspiciously verbatim: "The young and the old, longtime peace activists and first-time protesters gathered on the national mall." The day included "uncountable families motivated for the first time to protest," according to the Associated Press.

No doubt there were some moderates and neophytes in attendance, and maybe even some Mormon grandmothers. But the more candid accounts in the openly left-wing media told a far different story. "The overwhelming majority of attendees were committed activists whose politics ranged from progressive to leftist--the sort of people who always go to war protests, or at least stay home and feel guilty about it," wrote Jeff Horwitz in Salon. The alternative L.A. Weekly observed that the kaffiyeh--the Arab headdress which has become a sign of solidarity for opponents of Israel the world over--"was the de rigueur accessory worn by countless speakers." Not exactly a Norman Rockwell crowd. The truth is, folks ...