McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were hoping that the overhaul would translate into instant, affordable coverage. That widespread misconception may have originated in part from distorted rhetoric about the legislation bubbling up from the hyper-partisan debate about it in Washington and some media outlets, such as when opponents denounced it as socialism.

Where does one begin? Whose distorted rhetoric? Which media outlets? And how could certain aspects—guaranteed issue, community rating, and the slap-on-the-wrist tax penalty (essentially a wealth transfer)—not fairly be described as creeping socialism?

Two points for a lithe pigeonhole act. To blame “widespread misconceptions” about Dr. Robin Hood’s brainchild on a Republican conspiracy rather than a presidential administration’s unwillingness to acknowledge costs requires a knack for “factuality” I never learned in law school.

Newsweek cover: The Case for Killing Granny National Review cover: The Creeping Culture of Euthanasia

Query which is the newsweekly and which is the journal of opinion?

The demise of the former news oligopolist has been largely overlooked, though not by those in the know. News flash: You can’t be a “thought leader” with such drivel on your front page.

And trading off the decades of “goodwill” from consumers whose only option was to switch to Time probably isn’t a winning business strategy.

Whatever the case, I see no indication that Newsweek has acknowledged its unenviable position in the pecking order of left-wing bias, save for the prominent MSNBC link on its website.

Yes, Charlie, the day will come when respectable journalists will sneer about leaving it to “the newsweeklies.” Except they’ll be right.