James Rainey, nonpartisan columnist

That's what he'd like you to believe. Talking about LAT columnist James Rainey, who tried in his column yesterday to regain a little of his lost credibility, unsuccessfully.

After ranting about Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise selection by John McCain and then calling McCain a liar, Rainey wrote yesterday that Obama isn't lilly white, sorry, total honest either. Obama stretches the truth or misrepresents, according to Rainey. Nowhere does Rainey say Obama lies. He just can't bring himself to go that far, apparently.

Meanwhile, Rainey repeats some of what he calls McCain's lies and he points out that some media outfit has decided that McCain lies more often than Obama. Rainey canonizes Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus -- but PBS's NewHour puts Marcus opposite Byron York or David Brooks representing the liberal point of view. Is Rainey nuts or just partisan?