Our friend John Nolte at Big Journalism points out that Politico is back to its old tricks, defending Barack Obama from criticism by digging up dirt on a private citizen who supports his Republican opponent. In 2008, it was Joe the Plumber who was vetted by the Politico. This time around, it's an Iowa man who appears in a Romney Web ad.

"Right now Politico is doing oppo-research on private citizens to aid Obama. Seems to me that makes journalist's private lives fair game, no?" Nolte asked this morning in a tweet, noting in another tweet that "Politico's Maggie Haberman is a public figure in a position of power. Why is her private life any less newsworthy than a private citizen?"

That's actually a pretty good question.

You can read Nolte's item in full here.