Poison pen

Peter Isaacson continued his attack on Hearst and the poison pen of his editors.

After Mr. Rowland spoke, his wife, Patricia, delivered a spoof on the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas," that was a stinging sing-song rebuke of the news organizations that had reported on her husband's shortcomings and the widening federal investigation into his administration. Referring to the news media, she said: "They used to be good girls and boys, Santa said. But the poison pen's power has gone to their head."

The centrepiece of her work was a weekly column that could brim with venom . . . . Cherie Blair, Geri Halliwell, Sarah Ferguson, Victoria Beckham and Princess Diana all found themselves the subjects of Lee-Potter's poison pen.

In a fair political fight in which neither side wishes to take unfair advantage of an opponent, last-minute poison-pen circulars should be banned.

This collection of garbage and guilt-by-association was slipped into the files of the White House personnel office last fall. . . . Who was responsible for the poison-pen attack? No one signed it, and no one has taken responsibility.

He's been harsh, too, reacting with the swift kick of a poison-pen reviewer when he doesn't like what he sees on his stage.