Smelly, rightwing media: In its 12th year, the P.U.-Litzer Prizes--recognizing the smelliest performances in media--have just been announced. Among the honorees: MSNBC's Don Imus, who, just a day after Yassar Arafat died, characterized Palestinians as "They're eating dirt and that fat pig wife of his is living in Paris"; a former assistant managing editor at the Washington Post who admits, "We are inevitably the mouthpiece for whatever administration is in power"; and CNN's Jack Cafferty calling AirAmerica Radio a "communist radio network." This year's top stinker:

It became a media mantra. Two days after the election, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51 percent of the vote." Cox columnist Tom Teepen referred to Bush's vote margin as an "unquestionable mandate." Right-wing pundit Bill Kristol argued that Bush's "mandate" went beyond the 49-states-to-one landslides of Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1984. Reality check: This was the narrowest win for an incumbent president since 1916. As Greg Mitchell wrote in Editor & Publisher: "Where I come from, 51 percent is considered a bare majority, not a comfortable margin. If only 51 percent of my family or my editorial staff think I am doing a good job, I might look to moderate my behavior, not repeat or enlarge it."

Some suggested runners up, culled from recent postings at Media Matters ("the most vile, despicable human beings in the country," according to Bill O'Reilly): the bible-thumper Pat Robertson saying that "Kwanzaa is an absolute fraud" and Bill O'Reilly's recent comment to a caller who complained that growing up Jewish in a Christian town, he often felt like people were trying to convert him. O'Reilly's retort: "You have a predominantly Christian nation. You have a federal holiday based on the philosopher Jesus. And you don't wanna hear about it? Come on, [caller] -- if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then. "