The lead story in the L.A. Times this morning is titled Senators Reject Miers’ Replies to Questions.

The use of the word “reject” in the headline strikes me as entirely misleading. I noted last night that Arlen Specter and Pat Leahy have sent Ms. Miers an apparently unusual letter requesting follow-up answers on a number of items. The tone of the letter appears rather stern and lecturing. And indeed, Leahy made some remarks yesterday (not included in the letter) that disparaged Miers’s replies in the questionnaire.

But I don’t think it is fair to say that Senators have rejected her answers. Headlines are difficult to write, I’m sure, but this one is exceedingly poor. As usual, the Washington Post did much better, with a story titled Senators Assail Miers’s Replies, Ask for Details.

More on that story, and the distressing things it reveals about Miers, in the next post.