I’m puzzled by the Washington Post these days. The reporters are uncovering wonderful stuff that the editors try to stuff under the floorboards. Don’t they recognize gold when they see it?

Today’s online paper has this article:

‘This is… Nixonian.’ Reporter was Taped by White House in Heated Exchange

Omarosa Manigault, a communications official at the White House, engaged in a heated exchange steps from the Oval Office last week with April Ryan, a reporter with American Urban Radio Networks. Ryan said she felt “physically intimidated” by Manigault, who she said told her that Ryan was among a handful of journalists on whom the White House was keeping “dossiers” of negative information.

Not only was there the argument just outside Sean Spicer’s West Wing office with a long-time White House Reporter, Manigault had someone else there clandestinely recording it. Manigault later said that conversations with reporters are usually recorded, a claim that White House reporters deny. Manigault also said she’d asked for help recording this conversation in particular, anticipating issues, which seems more likely.

Manigault later played edited excerpts to a handful of reporters, trying to prove she hadn’t been the aggressor, and that she hadn’t admitted that the White House was keeping dossiers of negative information on their enemies in the GOP and the press.

I have so many issues with this. A Trump enemies list with dossiers of negative kompromat? How is that below-the-fold, Style section stuff?

My bigger question, though, is the normalization of what should be impossible behavior. This is the goddamn West Wing, not a reality TV episode. Omarosa Manigault isn’t the mean-girl contestant, she’s the Director of Communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison. She recording conversations with reporters without their knowledge, to use against them later.

I know this comparison is getting badly overused, but imagine if a communications official for Obama had been found to be secretly recording conversations, then lied about the policy, and the rationale. Why aren’t Republican calling for Manigault’s resignation? Why aren’t the Democrats? Because this level of absurdity has fallen below the level we can deal with. We’ve normalized it.

Last question: why did the Post editors decide this belonged in Style? Please don’t tell me that ‘girl fight’ consigns this to the old Women’s section. Maybe you had to listen more closely to understand.